The parents at the centre of a bungled child-recovery operation are attempting to negotiate a custodial agreement, the lawyer for Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner has told Fairfax Media.
But the father, Lebanese man Ali Elamine, is said to be unwilling to drop charges against the 60 Minutes crew, amid reports the Nine Network gave Ms Faulkner more than $100,000 to fund the child-retrieval operation.
Ghassan Moughabghab, the lawyer for Ms Faulkner, confirmed negotiations between the two parties were underway.
He said Mr Elamine was seeking that the pair's divorce be concluded in Lebanon.
Ms Faulkner is demanding access to her children, reportedly either in Lebanon, Australia or a third country, and is said to be willing to drop her claim for custody if Mr Elamine drops abduction charges against her. She has provided Fairfax Media with 150 emails she says she sent over the past 12 months begging her ex-husband to let her see her children.
Ms Faulkner said Mr Elamine never answered her requests. Ms Faulkner has an Australian custodial ruling in her favour while Mr Elamine has a Lebanese custodial ruling in his favour. Mr Moughabghab said Mr Elamine was prepared to drop charges against Ms Faulkner if she was prepared to drop charges against him in an Australian court.
The judge, Rami Abdullah, who is presiding over the case, which has gained international media coverage because of the Nine Network's role in the dramatic child-recovery operation in Beirut, is said to be sympathetic to Ms Faulkner's case. He does not see her actions as a kidnapping but rather a desperate attempt by a mother to reunite with her children.
However, it is understood he opposes her decision to engage a child-recovery team.
Mr Moughabgab refused to say whether Channel Nine had admitted to paying for the operation. When asked, he replied: "This question should be directed to Channel Nine ... it is their call not ours."
He indicated that he had a strong case in favour of Ms Faulkner however he would not be releasing any further evidence, at the judge's request, until the couple had attempted to negotiate an agreement.
Mr Moughabghab also added that several NGOs had also contacted him expressing their intention to lobby in support of Ms Faulkner however he requested that they refrain lest they jeopardise negotiations.
Ms Faulkner, 60 Minutes journalist Tara Brown and her crew - cameraman Benjamin Williamson, sound recordist David Ballment and producer Stephen Rice - are being held in Beirut after a failed attempt to retrieve Ms Faulkner's children Lahala, 6, and Noah, 4, last week.
The dramatic operation was captured on CCTV and appears to show Mr Elamine's elderly mother being manhandled as the children were snatched and taken away.
Child Abduction Recovery International, run by former Australian soldier Adam Whittington who is also in detention, boasts on its website that it has a "99 per cent success rate" to date and offers a free second abduction attempt in the event the first one fails.
A promotional video posted on their website says their agents are mostly former elite soldiers or military personnel.
