US diplomat David Satterfield is set to announce that attempts toward mediation between Lebanon and Israel over the border between the two countries due to "the Lebanese position," senior Lebanese officials said, Wednesday.
The Lebanese statement follows Jerusalem's opposition to the preconditions laid out by Beirut for talks on the matter.
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Two weeks ago, Lebanon's defense minister told Russian news agency RIA Novosti Beirut was "open to talks" on its border with Israel.
RIA quoted Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab as saying Lebanon was "unwilling to give up any part of its border, on land or at sea. However, we are open to talks to establish the border."
In late May, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry had described the atmosphere ahead of the planned negotiations as "positive" and said Jerusalem and Beirut were close to establishing a framework for negotiations on demarcating the Lebanese-Israeli land and maritime borders.
The border, also known as the Blue Line, is based on UN Security Council Resolution 425. In April 2000, when then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced that Israel would begin withdrawing its forces from Lebanon, Beirut refused to take part in marking the border. The UN thus conducted its own survey based on the line discussed in Resolution 425. In May 2000, Israel informed the Security Council that it had redeployed its forces in accordance with its orders.
In 2018, faced with growing threats to border-adjacent communities, Israel began building a new concrete barrier along its border with Lebanon, 11 kilometers of which have been completed so far. Lebanon rushed to protest the decision, claiming the fence was breaching its territory in a dozen places, an accusation Israel denies.
