BEIRUT, LEBANON (7:10 P.M.) – On Thursday, April 1, the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, accused Syria of encroaching on Lebanon’s maritime borders.
“The Assad government objected to Lebanon’s proposal for oil and gas exploration in 2014,” Geagea said in statements reported by MTV.
The Lebanese politician continued: “In May 2017, the Lebanese government sent a memorandum to the Assad government, requesting communication, to unify the view regarding our northern maritime borders without an answer.”
He stressed, “until two days ago, we were surprised by the awarding of a Russian company by the Assad government to oil and gas exploration based on the Syrian demarcation, which we did not agree on.”
Geagea said: “There is an overlap between the Syrian demarcation and the Lebanese demarcation in the maps, and our historical position on the Assad regime has nothing to do with this problem, which must be solved even though we are against the Assad regime.”
“The Syrian side is trying to bite down 750 square kilometers, as it appears on the maps,” Geagea said, stating that “I call on Presidents Aoun and Diab and his government and the political forces represented by the parliamentary majority to assign a law firm to send a warning to the Russian company, to inform it that the Syrian block is interfering with the Lebanese borders and this constitutes an encroachment on our land.”
“The Lebanese government must send a memorandum to the Assad government, clarify the problem, and form a technical team to discuss the maritime border problem. A note must also be sent to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and informing him of what happened,” he stressed, adding ‘if Syria refuses to work with a technical committee, then it must resort to arbitration and adhere to it, and it is also possible to go to the International Court of Justice and rule on the case, and if the Assad regime does not agree to any of what is presented, then Lebanon must take all measures to preserve its borders.”
He concluded by saying, “The Assad regime, and before him, recognized all of Lebanon and the people of Lebanon are not at all in their minds, and some refuse to deal with Syria just as Israel is dealt with as an enemy and whoever blows up two mosques and sends explosives, how is it dealt with? The cacophony has nothing to do with Lebanon, and this is not an opportunity to restore relations with Damascus.”
