Lebanese PM Najib Mikati denies direct contact with Israel at Cop27

Regional climate change meeting took place on sidelines of summit in Sharm El Sheikh

A man wears a face mask that reads "no climate justice without human rights" during a protest at the COP27 UN Climate Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AP

A presentation at the American University in Cairo Pavilion. Reuters

Egyptian artist Bahia Sheha stands inside her installation "Heaven & Hell in the Anthropocene." AFP

Akihiro Nishimura, minister of the environment of Japan, reviews notes with others at the COP27. AP

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, right, and Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate greet each other at the COP27 UN Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. AP

Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva poses for a group photograph with representatives of his country's indigenous people. AFP

People attend the COP27 UN Climate Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh. EPA

Activists dancing during a discussion on leaflets at the Cop27 climate conference, taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AFP

An activist wears a polar bear outfit as part of campaigning. AFP

From left, Rakia Amandou of Niger, Ba Aminata of Burkina Faso, Kenyan Rosemary Nenini, Fatima Mustafa Ahmed from Sudan and Djeneb Dicko from Burkina Faso at the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion. AP

Abdulla Nasser Musallam Al Rahbi, Oman's Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, speaks at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. AFP

Climate activists demonstrate in the designated protest zone. AP

Sheikh Abdullah, Director General of Environment at the Public Authority of Kuwait, speaks at Cop27. AFP

Visitors at the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre. AFP

A display outside the convention centre. AFP

A fountain in the green zone at the International Convention Centre at sunset. AFP

Mohamed bin Daina, right, Bahrain's Special Envoy for Climate Affairs and Chief Executive at the Supreme Council for Environment, at the conference. AFP

Members of Extinction Rebellion stage a protest at the Glencairn tidal pool outside Cape Town, South Africa to mark Cop27's 'Water Day'. AP

From left, Fahad Al Maskari of the Khalifa University, Frank Hartmann, Ghaleb Al Breiki of the UAE University, and Mouna Maroun of the University of Haifa, sign an agreement at Cop27. AFP

John Kerry, US special presidential envoy for climate, at Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AP Photo

Australian climate activists offer bananas to climate summit participants. AFP

Climate activist Sabrina Elba. AP Photo

Egyptian security forces stand guard during the protest. AFP

US President Joe Biden. AFP

Mr Biden with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. AP

A Cop27 sign in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, provides the backdrop for this woman's selfie. Reuters

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi speaks to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the climate summit. AFP

A water wonderland greets this child at an acquarium in the Cop27 Green Zone. Reuters

Mr El Sisi, second left, takes part in a cycling marathon on the sidelines of Cop27. EPA

Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks in Sharm El Sheikh about 'complicated' talks to set up a protection zone around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. AFP

Frankie the dinosaur. Reuters

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Reuters

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan, CEO of the Alliances for Global Sustainability; Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security; and Hatem Dowidar, group CEO at e&. AFP

Sameh Shoukry, Cop27 president, centre left, poses for photos in the youth pavilion. AP

A visitor looks at the 'Zero Point' series of collage portraits by Turkish artist Deniz Sagdic, each of which is made from a particular kind of upcycled waste material. Getty

Participants visit the Ukrainian pavillon. AFP

Mr Kerry speaks during a session on accelerating the clean energy transition in developing countries. AP

Youth climate activists. Pictured, from the left, Eric Njuguna of Kenya, Nicole Becker of Argentina, Vanessa Nakate of Uganda, Sophia Kianni from Iran, and Mitzi Jonelle Tan of the Philippines. AP

Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, right, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group, poses for a photo with Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, the UAE's Minister of State for Financial Affairs. AFP

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Bloomberg

A police officer stands at the entrance of the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre during Cop27. Reuters

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres. AP Photo

Former US vice president Al Gore speaks during a session at Cop27. AP Photo

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest. AFP

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has rejected reports he had direct contact with an Israeli official on the sidelines of the UN climate conference Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Lebanon does not recognise Israel and the two countries technically remain in a state of war with each other.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese political party and armed group, has frequently fought with its arch foe Israel.

Israeli media had claimed that representatives from several countries, including Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Israel, had agreed to co-operate on climate change action at a closed-door meeting for regional countries.

Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg's office said an agreement by parties to the meeting would help “strengthen regional co-operation” and “act in a co-ordinated way” on global warming.

“The countries of the region share the warming and drying climate and just as they share the problems they can and must share the solutions. No country can stand alone in the face of the climate crisis,” Ms Zandberg said.

A picture posted online shows Ms Zandberg in the foreground around a large table sat next to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with Egyptian President Abdel Fateh El Sisi to the left and Mr Mikati in the background.

Mr Mikati's office accused Israeli media of overblowing the regional forum and creating “uproar”.

“To be clear, the expanded meeting took place at the invitation of the presidents of Egypt and Cyprus and with their presence and with wide international and Arab participation, as was the case with other activities of the [Cop27]. It did not involve any contact with any Israeli official,” his office said.

Lebanon and Israel recently signed a landmark maritime deal following indirect US shuttle mediation that would demarcate their sea borders and allow gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean for both countries.

But Lebanese officials have repeatedly emphasised that the deal in no way represents any sort of working partnership.