Lebanon welcomes US mediation in resolving maritime dispute

Lebanon welcomes US mediation to help resolve the maritime dispute between Israel and Lebanon, Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour told a local daily in an interview published Saturday. “I believe the US can play an effective role,” Mansour told As-Safir newspaper. “If it succeeds in finding a solution regarding the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) then the US would have scored positive points in [the eyes] of Lebanon and concerned countries and that is what we want,” Mansour said. Israel and Lebanon both lay claim to a disputed area that spans some 860-square kilometers off the coast of the two countries and is said to be rich in gas and oil resources. US Special Coordinator for Regional Affairs Frederic Hof said last month during his visit to Beirut that the White House was willing to help Israel and Lebanon to resolve the dispute over the EEZ – the maritime area in which a given state enjoys special rights governing the use of economic resources. Lebanon’s EEZ is estimated to be worth between $5 billion and $8 billion. Cyprus has also offered to resolve the disagreement given that Lebanon is blocking the approval of 2007 deal with the island in which the edges of the EEZ between Lebanon and Cyprus were delineated. In December 2010, Cyprus signed a memorandum of cooperation with Israel for surveying and mapping joint energy projects. Lebanon says the memorandum’s provisions violate its maritime rights. “We are asking for help from the United Nations and we do not mind mediation by any big country such as the United States, which is at present mediating. We welcome mediation by the United States aimed at finding a fair solution,” Mansour said. In a wide-ranging interview with the paper, Mansour also spoke extensively about the situation in Syria and said: “The policy of disassociation is related to resolutions but we cannot deny that we are sentimental toward Syria. This sentimentality is also toward other Arab countries.” He criticized the Arab League, saying it had failed to resolve the crisis in Lebanon’s neighbor as well as other outstanding issues pertaining to member states, adding the organization was committing a big misstate by trying to resolve Arab-related issues outside of its jurisdiction. “If the league is incapable of strengthening ties between Arab countries and strengthening the internal situation of countries, I believe that the league in this case becomes incapable of playing the role which it was mandated with,” he said. Mansour also said that Lebanon would not recognize the Syria National Council and said that his country’s absence from the “Friends of Syria” conference was due to the participation of the opposition group. “I cannot participate in a meeting attended by the [members] of the Syrian National Council because my attendance would be interpreted as a recognition of the council,” he added. Mansour also criticized UN Chief Ban Ki-moon’s recent report on the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in which Ban noted that the continued presence of Hizbollah’s arms threatened to destabilize Lebanon. In the report, Ban also criticized the continuing violations by Israel of Lebanon’s airspace. The foreign minister said an objective eye, and not a one-sided view, was needed when assessing resolution 1701. “The issue is clear. Hizbollah succeeded in liberating land at a time when the United Nations failed to force Israel to commit to respecting international resolutions,” he added.