(JNS) Negotiating teams from Israel and Lebanon met this week for the first session of U.S.-brokered maritime-border talks, the United States and United Nations confirmed in a joint statement.

During the meeting, the representatives held “productive talks and reaffirmed their commitment to continue negotiations later this month,” the statement said.

The Israel-Lebanon maritime border dispute has been going on for decades, but became more urgent following natural-gas discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea. Washington has engaged in efforts to bring the two sides to the table ever since Israel requested U.S. assistance in the matter in 2011.