Bou Habib expressed optimism about an agreement in negotiations over a disputed area of 1,430 square kilometers on the high seas.

Regarding US envoy Amos Hochstein, the mediator in that debate, the head of Lebanese diplomacy said that he could feel a unified and positive Lebanese position during his recent visit to this country.

Although Hochstein holds Israeli citizenship, Bou Habib noted that he was considered a responsible envoy from Washington and not a missionary of Tel Aviv.

This statement made by the Lebanese minister was compulsory because Lebanon and Israel have no relations and are technically at war.

Beirut and Tel Aviv started in late 2020 a round of ‘strange’ dialogues over the maritime dispute, as their representatives do not speak face to face, but through U.S. and UN mediators.

Initially, the area in dispute made up 864 square kilometers, but Lebanon expanded it to 1,430 and Israel refused to accept that extension.

It is estimated that there is enough oil in the deep sea of that area to turn the so-called nation of the cedars from an importer to an exporter.

Israel already exploits these resources in its part and achieves energy self-sufficiency and sells surpluses to Jordan. Lebanon is still at the prospecting stage, now at a standstill.

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