House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Tuesday met at the Second Presidency in Ain El-Tineh with US mediator, Amos Hochstein, who is currently tasked to hold indirect negotiations to demarcate Lebanon’s southern maritime borders.
The meeting took place in presence of US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea.
The meeting lasted for about an hour and ten minutes, during which Speaker Berri affirmed to the US envoy that ‘’what he has been informed by President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, on the issue of the maritime borders and Lebanon’s rights to invest its oil wealth is unanimously agreed upon by all the Lebanese.”
The House Speaker indicated that “discussions centered in essence on the subject of maritime border demarcation, especially that the framework agreement remains the basis and the most suitable mechanism for indirect negotiation based on the texts contained therein, which call for the continuity of meetings to reach the desired results and which lead to the demarcation of the borders without undermining Lebanon’s right to drilling.”
Speaker Berri also underlined that “in parallel with Lebanon’s keenness on extracting its wealth, it is also keen on preserving stability.”
On the other hand, Berri also received the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Lebanon, Badr bin Mohammed Al Mandhari, who came on a farewell visit upon the end of his diplomatic mission in the country.
The Speaker also received Moroccan Ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammed Karin, who handed him a congratulatory message from his Moroccan counterpart, Rachid Talbi Alami, on the occasion of his re-election as Lebanon’s House Speaker for a new term.
Ambassador Karin said on emerging that the visit had been an occasion to discuss the current general situation and the bilateral relations between the two countries.
This afternoon, Speaker Berri met with Lebanese Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, with whom he discussed the current general situation, especially the security one.
Source: NNA
