Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday said Lebanon had concerns the ‘Israeli’ entity might deny it “its right to more than 850 nautical square kilometers” in maritime resources.

Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday said Lebanon had concerns the ‘Israeli’ entity might deny it “its right to more than 850 nautical square kilometers” in maritime resources, stressing that “the problem is not between Lebanon and Cyprus, but rather between Lebanon and Israel.”

During a joint press conference with his Cypriot counterpart Yiannakis Omirou in Cyprus, where he arrived Wednesday on an official visit, Berri said “the U.N. has recently become convinced that it has to intervene in order to resolve this issue,” referring to the disputed oil and gas resources.

“The problem is not between Lebanon and Cyprus, but rather between Lebanon and Israel, and all that we fear is that Israel might take advantage of the tensions concerning the issue of Turkey in order to exploit the situation and deny Lebanon its right to more than 850 nautical square kilometers,” Berri added.

Asked about the period needed to finalize the agreement on the exclusive economic zone between Lebanon and Cyprus, the speaker said: “When we settle this point, the so-called Point 23, which is the 850 square kilometers I mentioned before, I can say on behalf of the parliament that we can ratify it within a period not exceeding 15 days.”

During his visit, Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri also met with Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and discussed means of developing bilateral ties.

The meeting also tackled the oil issue and the economic exclusive zone between Lebanon and Cyprus.

The Cypriot president reassured Berri that he gave instructions to the relevant authorities to facilitate the signing of an oil agreement between the two countries.

The Lebanese Parliament in August 2010 passed an oil exploration bill, which calls for the establishment of a treasury and a committee to oversee exploration and drilling off the coast of Lebanon.

In January, the Lebanese government endorsed plans to implement legislation that will clear the way for offshore oil and gas exploration.

The disputed zone consists of about 882 square kilometers, and suspected energy reserves there could generate billions of dollars.

The government has warned that Lebanon will not give up its maritime rights, while Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has vowed to defend Lebanon’s maritime resources.