The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, received the American mediator for the southern maritime border demarcation, Amos Hochstein, along with his accompanying delegation, in the presence of the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea.
After the meeting, Hochstein stated, "It was a good and constructive discussion with Speaker Nabih Berri, with whom I have had several meetings over the past ten years. I appreciate his leadership and efforts in this process and pushing it forward to reach this understanding that will be very important for the Lebanese people and the Lebanese economy. I have always valued President Berri's sincerity and straightforwardness, and his efforts have been a catalyst to reach what we have today, hoping it will be a positive motivator for the Lebanese and for the economy. In my opinion, today is a historic day that serves the entire Lebanese people, enabling them to develop a new economy characterized by openness and transparency, where its benefits and resources return to all Lebanese."
In response to a question about whether the results of the Israeli elections would affect the fate of the agreement and if President Berri had any comments on the "understanding," Hochstein said, "President Berri played a pioneering role over the past ten years in leading this path, and I have met with him several times during this period. He is very supportive of what we have achieved today."
Regarding the Israeli elections, he added, "This election is not the first and will not be the last; there will be elections at other times. It is an understanding between two governments, binding to both, and it will remain so regardless of subsequent elections and successive governments, and I am not worried about the implementation of this understanding."
He continued, "Regardless of the election results and who will be the next president of Lebanon, I am confident that this understanding is secure and protected and must be implemented by all parties. An essential part of this path that brought us to where we are now was the framework agreement, with Naqoura being the final station this afternoon, according to this agreement that we agreed upon with President Nabih Berri."
Hochstein concluded, "Both governments are committed separately and independently to implementing this understanding."
