The US official mediating a maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel said on Monday he remained optimistic about making progress towards a deal.
The envoy, Amos Hochstein, made the comments after meeting Lebanon’s top leaders at the presidential palace.
“I remain optimistic that we can make continuous progress as we have over the last several weeks and I look forward to being able to come back to the region to make the final arrangement,” Hochstein said, as quoted by the Reuters news agency.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati gave a thumbs up as he emerged from the meeting that also included President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Lebanese deputy parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab said the negotiations were now moving “within a short timeframe.”
In 2021, official discussions commenced between representatives of Israel and Lebanon, with the aim of reaching an agreement on their maritime border.
There have been major natural gas discoveries off the coasts of both countries during the last decade, and the border dispute has halted gas exploration in an area that has attracted the interest of US energy companies.
The talks were initiated after Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas off its coast with a consortium comprising energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek, including in a block disputed by Israel.
Israel says one of two blocks in the eastern Mediterranean where Lebanon wants to drill for oil belongs to it, and had denounced any exploration by Beirut as "provocative".
Last month, the Lebanese government objected to the arrival of a vessel operated by London-based Energean off the Mediterranean coast to develop the Karish field.
The move prompted Beirut to call for the resumption of the US-mediated negotiations on the demarcation dispute.
Officials in Israel said last week they believe that the maritime dispute with Lebanon is on the brink of a solution.
A senior Israeli official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity on Sunday, said Hochstein would present a new Israeli proposal that “includes a solution that would allow the Lebanese to develop the gas reserves in the disputed area while preserving Israel’s commercial rights.”
This would entail “some drilling there” by the Lebanese, the Israeli official said without elaborating.