Lebanon invites U.S. envoy to Beirut to discuss maritime dispute with Israel

BEIRUT – Lebanon’s president has agreed to invite U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut to continue negotiations over the demarcation of its southern maritime border with Israel, the office of the Lebanese caretaker prime minister said on Monday.

Lebanon warned Israel on Sunday against any “aggressive action” in disputed waters where both states hope to develop offshore energy, after a ship operated by London-based Energean arrived off the coast to produce gas for Israel.

(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah in Cairo and Lina Najem in Beirut; Writing by Lina Najem; Editing by Gareth Jones)