President of the Republic General Michel Aoun affirmed on Thursday that dealing with demarcation of the southern maritime borders stems from preserving Lebanon’s interest and its rights in its waters and land.
The President asserted that this issue, which falls within the framework of international negotiations, is among the main responsibilities of the President of the Republic based on Article 52 of the Constitution.
The President’s positions came while meeting a delegation of ambassadors from the North, including Denmark’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Merete Juhl, Norwegian Ambassador, Martin Yttervik, Finnish Ambassador, Tarja Fernandez, and Swedish Ambassador, Ann Dismorr.
President Aoun emphasized that he will continue his efforts to reach positive results in demarcating the southern land borders, especially with the arrival of the American mediator in the indirect negotiations with Israel, Ambassador Amos Hochstein to Beirut at the beginning of next week.
“We will ask Hochstein to resume his efforts to restart indirect negotiations, especially since Lebanon wants, through these negotiations, to be able to invest its oil and gas wealth in Lebanese waters, and to maintain stability and security in the border region” the President said.
In response to the Ambassadors’ questions, President Aoun clarified that the democratic process will continue in the coming days through parliamentary consultations to assign a personality to form the new government, which is supposed to gain the confidence of Parliament and begin work on addressing urgent issues, especially the economic situation, the recovery plan, and negotiations with the International
Monetary Fund, which is supposed to provide Lebanon with loans to help it overcome the difficult circumstances it is going through.
In response to another question, President Aoun pointed out that the money factor played a role in the course of the recent parliamentary elections, and if appeals are received, the Constitutional Council decides on them according to the approved constitutional rules.
President Aoun also stressed the importance of the relations linking Lebanon with the northern countries, expressing Lebanon’s position on the Russian-Ukrainian war and its impact on the world’s economies.
For their part, the ambassadors of the four countries affirmed their support for Lebanon in various fields and the continuation of providing aid in the areas it needs, looking forward to strengthening relations between their countries and Lebanon.