Lebanon Remains Confident US Will Protect Israel Deal

Lebanon’s caretaker PM Najib Mikati remains confident that U.S. guarantees would protect the maritime border deal with Israel should Israel's conservative former premier Benjamin Netanyahu win a majority in Israel’s elections.

• Netanyahu had threatened to "neutralize" the agreement, after the deal had been signed last week.
• Israel’s elections took place on 1 November.
• Lebanon is currently also holding discussions with Syria, as Lebanon’s deputy speaker of parliament Elias Bou Saab has visited Syria end October.
• The relationship between both countries has been tense since Syria last year granted an offshore exploration license to a Russian energy company in an area Lebanon claim is theirs.
• Eastern Mediterranean maritime borders have been thrown into focus in recent years because of numerous gas discoveries. The region looks set to become an alternative source of gas for Europe as it moves away from Russian flows.
• One day after signing the deal with Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus have agreed to hold sea border talks.
• In 2007, Lebanon and Cyprus reached a maritime border agreement, but it was never ratified by the Lebanese parliament due to the then-unresolved dispute with Israel.