Lebanon sets starting point for sea border negotiations with Israel

FILE PHOTO: A UN naval ship is pictured off the Lebanese coast in the town of Naqoura, near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon October 14, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo

BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Michel Aoun on Thursday specified Lebanon's starting point for demarcating its sea border with Israel under U.S.-mediated talks, in the first public confirmation of a stance sources say actually increases the size of the disputed area.

Israel and Lebanon launched the negotiations last month with delegations from the long-time foes convening at a U.N. base to try to agree on the unresolved border that has held up hydrocarbon exploration in the potentially gas-rich area.