Israel and Lebanon began talks on Wednesday to settle a dispute over their maritime border with regard to access to the resource-rich Mediterranean Sea. Both nations are technically under a formal state of war, but have remained at a cease-fire since 2006. The first round of talks took place in the Lebanese town of Naqoura at a United Nations base, the headquarters of the UN Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL). Hosted by the United Nations, negotiations were mediated by United States officials after the two nations agreed earlier this month to engage in talks to resolve disputed claims over the Mediterranean Sea. The meeting lasted an hour, with the Lebanese state media reporting that they would be meeting again on 28 October.

Army Deputy Chief of Staff Brig-Gen Bassam Yassin (the head of Lebanese delegation) stated that the meeting represented “the first step on a thousand-mile journey for demarcating the southern borders.” Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Israeli energy ministry said of future prospects that the nations had “discussed the framework to continue the talks and outlined the schedule for the upcoming meetings.” Even so, they made sure to assert that the “aim is not to create here some kind of normalization or peace process.”

Despite both sides denying that the meetings show any intention of normalizing ties, the bid to discuss this conflict through negotiations was certainly the right decision, especially with the addition of a mediator. Although it may be too quick to jump to conclusions at this early point (as relations are historically complex and embroiled in conflict), one can hope that the peaceful resolution of the sea border dispute will be the first step to improving relations, and that it may one day lead to further discussions over the current state of war. If anything, if the negotiations prove to be successful, the event may serve as a reminder influencing future political decisions.

The dispute over the Mediterranean Sea is based on resources. Lebanon is currently suffering economic woes, and gaining access to the sea would allow extraction of the natural gas field lying beneath the hydrocarbon-rich waters. These negotiations would be the first in 30 years between Israel and Lebanon since the last attempted peace treaty, the May 17 Agreement of 1983, with the two nations having been in a formal state of war since the late 1940s Arab-Israeli conflict. The violent 2006 Lebanon War ended in a ceasefire after UN intervention and has remained to this day. Although no official land border was ever agreed to, the ceasefire continues along the Blue Line border demarcation.

The general sentiment among Lebanese citizens is a remaining distrust and animosity, especially with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah who holds a significant amount of political power. Hezbollah had initially denounced the negotiations, discouraging any form of co-operation with the Israeli government, but the talks have gone ahead anyway. This is hopefully, as Lebanese delegate Yassin has stated, the first step in a non-violent resolution of conflict.