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'A Lebanese navy patrol boat sails in the Mediterranean: Beirut wants to define its maritime borders with Syria to the north, and Cyprus, to the west<br> Lebanon wants direct talks to demarcate its maritime border with Syria so it can begin offshore gas exploration, weeks after reaching a similar agreement with Israel, its top negotiator told AFP.<br> The US-brokered sea border deal with Israel guarantees "stability" in a volatile region, where the two enemy states seek to exploit potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters, Elias Bou Saab said.<br> Beirut now wishes to define its maritime borders with Syria to the north, and Cyprus, to the west, to consolidate its offshore rights.<br> "The Lebanese government must engage directly and publicly with the Syrian government... and publicly demarcate our sea borders," Bou Saab, who is also Lebanon's deputy speaker of parliament, said Tuesday.<br> "Any future government must undertake this task and put Lebanon's interest first," he insisted, while "leaving regional political conflicts out of this matter."<br> Syria, which once had a controlling hand in Lebanon's affairs, has repeatedly refused to delimit land and sea borders with its neighbour.<br> In recent years, Lebanese politicians have been deeply divided over relations with Damascus.<br> Lebanese security officials and politicians have made several visits to Syria, but almost exclusively in their personal capacity or on behalf of political parties that support the Syrian regime.<br> The powerful Shiite organisation Hezbollah, which has backed Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's forces since the early stages of the conflict, been advocating for rapprochement with Damascus.<br> - 'Demands and reservations' -<br> Lebanon's chief negotiator Elias Abu Saab said Beirut wants talks with Syria on demarcating their maritime border like those with Israel<br> Bou Saab said the disputed maritime area between Lebanon and Syria is "perhaps more than 800 square kilometres (310 square miles)".<br> It could be "larger" than the area that had been disputed with Israel, he added.<br> Lebanon cannot begin gas exploration in its northern waters near Syria without first resolving its border dispute with Damascus, Bou Saab said.<br> The Lebanese presidency had announced last month that a delegation would visit Damascus for sea border talks, but that trip has since been postponed.<br> The Syrian ambassador in Beirut, Ali Abdel Karim Ali, said it was due to "confusion" over the proposed dates.<br> But after years of Lebanese distancing, Bou Saab said that Syria had "demands and reservations".<br> Lebanese officials are betting on the potential revenues from the country's offshore energy reserves to revive its devastated economy, mired in crisis since 2019.<br> Already ruled by a caretaker government since May, Lebanon has been without a president since the beginning of the month, with political paralysis compounding the country's economic woes.<br> - 'Stability and hope' -<br> Lebanon and Israel maritime border<br> Lebanon also needs an agreement with Syria to be able to map its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with Cyprus.<br> One day after the agreement with Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus agreed to move ahead with sea border talks, but the two countries have yet to strike a deal.<br> "In a single day, we agreed to change our border with Cyprus," based on the new coordinates with Israel, Bou Saab said.<br> Under the agreement with Israel, Lebanon gained full rights to operate and explore the Qana or Sidon reservoir, parts of which fall in Israel's territorial waters.<br> Israel will receive a compensation by the firm operating Qana.<br> French giant TotalEnergies and Italian energy giant Eni has been licenced to explore the field.<br> Russia's Novatek was initially part of the consortium but later withdrew, with Qatar stepping up to join, Bou Saab said.<br> "Qatar will have a 30 percent after an agreement between the three companies, while Eni and Total will each have 35 percent," he said.<br> The companies are expected to start operating in three to four months, Bou Saab added.<br> Other Arab Gulf states are interested in investing in Lebanon's offshore resources, he said.<br> There are still no proven gas reserves in the Qana reservoir, and analysts have cautioned that it will take years for production to start in Lebanese waters.<br> The deal was welcomed by both Israel and the country's arch-foe Hezbollah.<br> Common financial interests at the border mean that conflict is less likely between the two enemy states, Bou Saab said, [https://telecharger1win.com/ comment parier avec le bonus 1win] as European demand for gas soars after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.<br> "This deal brings stability and hope on a regional level," he said.<br>'