UPDATE 1-Israel expects U.S.-mediated Lebanese sea border talks in weeks

Israel expects to launch U.S.-mediated talks with Lebanon on setting their maritime border within weeks, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday, naming a U.N. peacekeeper compound in southern Lebanon as a possible venue. Lebanon has not commented publicly on whether it would attend talks or on any possible timeline.

The United States, which has been sending a senior envoy on shuttle missions between Lebanon and Israel, also has not announced a date or venue but said it is prepared to help them resolve the dispute. Formally at war since Israel's 1948 founding, the neighbours have long disagreed on border demarcations in the eastern Mediterranean, an issue that gained prominence in the past decade when large deposits of natural gas were found there.