BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon warned the Zionist regime on Sunday against any “act of aggressive” in disputed energy-rich waters, after a ship arrived off the coast to produce gas for the occupying regime.
President Michel Aoun said any activity in the disputed area would amount to an act of aggression and a provocation, after the arrival of the natural gas storage and production ship operated by London-based Energean.
In a statement, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun discussed with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati the vessel’s entry “into the disputed maritime area with Israel, and asked the Army Command to provide him with accurate and official data to build upon the matter.”
Aoun said negotiations to delineate the southern maritime area continued and “any action or activity in the disputed area represents a provocation and an aggressive action.”
There was no immediate response from the Zionist regime to Aoun’s statement. The regime’s energy minister Karine Elaharrar welcomed the vessel’s arrival and said she hoped it would be brought online quickly.
“We will continue to work to diversify the energy market and maintain stability and reliability,” she said.
Energean said its floating production storage and offloading vessel arrived on Sunday at the Karish field, about 80 km (50 miles) west of the city of Haifa.
Mikati said the occupying regime was “encroaching on Lebanon’s maritime wealth, and imposing a fait accompli in a disputed area,” calling this “extremely dangerous.”
The United States began mediating indirect talks between the sides in 2000 to settle a long-running dispute between old foes that has obstructed energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. Lebanon is home to the resistance movement Hezbollah which has fought off numerous wars with the occupying regime.
Hezbollah has previously warned the regime against drilling for oil and gas in the disputed area until the issue is resolved, and said the movement would take action if it did so.