Cairo: French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian arrived in Lebanon on Thursday on a mission to break a months-long logjam in forming a new government in the crisis-hit country.
The top French diplomat met Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace and left without making a statement.
Le Drian is also expected to hold talks with head of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri.
Prior to his visit to Beirut, Le Drian warned of punitive measures against Lebanese politicians who are hampering efforts to end political and economic crises in the country.
Lebanon is experiencing its worst economic dilemma in decades amid a political deadlock on forming a new government.
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel s diplomatic reporter
View of the Israeli Leviathan gas field gas processing rig as it seen from Dor Habonim Beach Nature Reserve, on January 1, 2020. (Flash90)
Israeli and Lebanese negotiators engaged in US-mediated indirect talks over their disputed maritime for six hours on Tuesday.
The talks were the first since discussions were broken off in October 2020.
US diplomat John Desrocher, who serves as the American mediator, asked that both parties negotiate based on their original proposals filed to the United Nations in 2011, according to Lebanese daily L’Orient Today.
Lebanon has since submitted much more aggressive maritime claims. In the lead up to this round of talks, the Lebanese delegation a mix of army officers and experts offered a new map that pushes for an additional 1,430 square kilometers (550 square miles) for Lebanon.
Credit: luzitanija/AdobeStock
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday there should be no preconditions for talks with Israel over their Mediterranean border dispute, key to Lebanon s hopes to find gas reserves amid its worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.
Negotiations between the old foes were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute, which has held up exploration in the potentially gas-rich area, yet the talks have since stalled.
A statement by the Lebanese presidency issued after the resumption of talks on Tuesday said the U.S. mediator had asked for negotiations to be on the basis of Israeli and Lebanese border lines already submitted and registered with the United Nations.
Reuters Reuters
5 May, 2021, 11:12 pm
An Israeli navy boat is seen in the Mediterranean Sea as seen from Rosh Hanikra, close to the Lebanese border, northern Israel May 4, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday there should be no preconditions for talks with Israel over their Mediterranean border dispute, key to Lebanon’s hopes to find gas reserves amid its worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.
Negotiations between the old foes were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute, which has held up exploration in the potentially gas-rich area, yet the talks have since stalled.
Le chef de la diplomatie française se rend au Liban avec un «message de grande fermeté» rfi.fr - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rfi.fr Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.