The talks in Naqoura were held under UN auspices and mediated by the US Lebanon and Israel, which remain formally at war, have held a first round of talks to settle a long-running dispute over their maritime border. US officials mediated in the negotiations, which took place at the base of a UN peacekeeping force in the Lebanese town of Naqoura. Both sides insist the talks are not a sign of any normalisation of ties. But an agreement would allow them to exploit potentially lucrative natural gas fields under the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon is in dire economic trouble and is in need of additional revenue. The negotiations come less than a month after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish full relations with Israel after US-brokered deals.