Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri announced 1 October that indirect US-mediated negotiations between Israel and Lebanon would commence imminently in a bid to reach agreement on the long-disputed maritime boundary between the two countries (see map).

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo quickly released a statement welcoming the announcement, noting that “this historic agreement between the two parties was brokered by the United States and is the result of nearly three years of intense diplomatic engagement.” (CONTINUED - 284 WORDS)