US President pressures Netanyahu: Israel agrees to direct talks with Lebanon
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is preparing a historic diplomatic meeting that could change the course of the war in the Middle East. Today in Washington, direct talks will take place between the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon, according to Axios.
Axios emphasizes that such direct negotiations between these neighbors have not occurred since 1993. However, Israel's ongoing destruction of Hezbollah militants on Lebanese territory is driving the negotiation process. The swift start may have been influenced by US President Donald Trump.
According to the publication's sources, three key issues will be on the agenda:
- An immediate ceasefire and halt to the ground invasion;
- The long-term disarmament of the terrorist group Hezbollah;
- The signing of a full-fledged peace agreement between the countries.
In addition to Marco Rubio, the talks will be attended by US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, State Department advisor Michael Needham, as well as the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon — Yechiel Leiter and Nada Hamadeh.
"As a direct result of Hezbollah's reckless actions, the Israeli and Lebanese governments are engaging in open, direct, high-level diplomatic talks brokered by the United States. Israel is at war with Hezbollah, not Lebanon, so there is no reason the two neighbors should not be talking," the US State Department noted.
Netanyahu's position and the "Trump factor"
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had long rejected any possibility of direct dialogue with the Lebanese government.
Donald Trump is demanding immediate de-escalation and wants quick results. It was after a conversation with the US president that Netanyahu agreed to take the first step in the peace process, Axios notes.
What preceded the Lebanon-Israel talks
Despite the ceasefire between the US and Iran, Israel continued to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon. Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized that the US-Iran truce does not apply to combat operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and therefore, operations in that region will continue.
For their part, Lebanon and the US asked Israel to suspend attacks on Hezbollah — at least until the talks between Israel and Lebanon begin this week.
