Aoun announces Lebanon’s official approval of border deal with Israel

President Michel Aoun said Thursday that Lebanon has formally approved the U.S.-mediated maritime border deal with Israel.

“This indirect agreement responds to Lebanese demands and maintains all our rights,” Aoun said in an address to the nation.

Aoun made the announcement hours after holding phone talks with Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati and Speaker Nabih Berri, who had received copies of Hochstein’s latest iteration of the agreement earlier this week.

“I hope the end of these negotiations is the promising start to placing the cornerstone for the economic growth that Lebanon needs through extracting oil and gas,” Aoun said. “Which would add stability, security, and development that our nation Lebanon needs.”

Aoun also noted that the deal is “the result of a long journey, which started in 2010 when the Energy and Water Ministry led by Minister Jebran Bassil prepared the petroleum resources draft law,” accusing rival Lebanese parties of “obstructing vital projects” for his “ministerial team in the successive governments.”

And as he thanked U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein, U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea, French President Emmanuel Macron, French Ambassador Anne Grillo, the U.N. and Qatar for their contributions to the demarcation deal, Aoun added that “the Resistance (Hezbollah) has proven that it is an element of strength for Lebanon.”

Describing the deal as a “historic achievement,” the President added that Lebanon was “able to recover a disputed area of 860 square kilometers.”

“Lebanon did not concede a single square kilometer to Israel,” he said, adding that Lebanon has seized full control over the Qana field, despite parts of it falling within Israel’s territorial waters.

He also stressed that “no normalization with Israel took place.”