Lebanon, Syria discuss sea border demarcation

By Waseem Saifeddin

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) – Lebanese President Michel Aoun has phoned Syria's Bashar al-Assad to discuss the demarcation of Lebanon-Syria maritime borders, according to Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe.

The move came after the Syrian regime offered a Russian oil company the right to conduct oil exploration in a disputed maritime area on the Mediterranean.

Speaking to Lebanese private MTV on Tuesday, Wehbe said Aoun confirmed in his call with Assad that "Lebanon won't accept to diminish from its sovereignty over its waters”.

Wehbe confirmed that his country sticks to demarcating the maritime borders via negotiations.

"The last resort would be to seek international courts," Wehbe said, adding that Beirut will not attack Damascus over the sea dispute.

While most of the land borders between the two countries have been demarcated in 1971, the maritime borders between Syria and Lebanon have not been delimited.

Lebanon seeks to end the maritime demarcation with Syria after the discovery of oil and gas resources in the Mediterranean where the Assad regime offered in March a contract to a Russian company to conduct oil exploration in the disputed area known as block No. 1.

*Ahmed Asmar in Ankara contributed to this report