Press reports indicated that "the next and final week of the term will witness 3 official meetings: the first will be a meeting with the Syrian delegation in Damascus, the second is likely to be on Thursday with American mediator Amos Hochstein followed by the signing of the agreements in Naqoura, and the third will be a meeting on Friday with the Cypriot delegation, which is a highly technical official delegation."
**A Note from Cyprus to Lebanon:** In this context, "Al-Arabiya" reported on Saturday that Cyprus has requested Lebanon to expedite the maritime border delineation following the agreement with Israel. Meanwhile, MTV revealed a letter sent by the Cypriot government via its embassy in Beirut to the Lebanese foreign ministry, welcoming the agreement between Lebanon and Israel on maritime border delineation, and expressing a desire to hold consultations with Lebanon to address the impact of the delineation agreement with Israel on the maritime borders between Cyprus and Lebanon.
The government requested to arrange a meeting for a Cypriot delegation visiting Beirut with Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, and Energy Minister Walid Fayad for this purpose.
**Aoun's Call with Assad:** Reuters reported that a Lebanese official stated that President Michel Aoun and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad discussed on Saturday the delineation of the maritime borders between their countries. The Lebanese official told Reuters after the discussions on Saturday that Aoun informed Assad that Lebanon is keen to "start negotiations with Syria for the delineation of its northern maritime borders." The two leaders discussed border delineation last year.
"Shaam FM" Syrian radio stated that the details of the delineation have not yet been discussed, and Assad proposed direct talks through the foreign ministries of both countries. A dispute arose over the shared maritime border last year after Syria granted a Russian energy company a license to begin offshore drilling in an area that Lebanon asserts belongs to it. Several gas discoveries have been made in the eastern Mediterranean. Aoun previously stated that the delineation of borders would follow after Lebanon agreed on its southern maritime borders with Israel, an old enemy, following years of indirect US-mediated talks.
