Khaberni - As the eyes of the Lebanese turn to the second direct negotiation session with Israel, which will be held today in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun clarified on Thursday that the communications conducted with Washington focused on stopping the firing and starting the negotiation process on the basis of ending the state of war with Israel, noting that communication with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was absolutely out of the question, as reported by Minister of Information Paul Markos.
Aoun said at the start of the government session: "This evening, a meeting will be held in Washington to extend the ceasefire, which also includes stopping the destruction of homes, assaults on civilians, places of worship, journalists, and both medical and educational bodies. This is what Lebanon’s Ambassador to the United States Ambassador Nada Hamada Mawad will bring to the meeting, and she will do her utmost to secure these terms."
He added, "The positive aspect lies in the fact that for the first time, Lebanon's file returns to the American table, specifically to the table of the Secretary of State who also holds the position of National Security Advisor, which opens the door for us, in case things go as they should, in terms of reconstructing the economy and rebuilding and others... and I hope to be able to visit Washington and have a meeting with President Trump to inform him in detail about the situation in Lebanon."
He continued: "We will work on addressing the breaches that occurred in the ceasefire through the meeting that will be held today in Washington," adding "I will rely on any means capable of ending the war and destruction."
And the two countries, which have been officially at war since 1948, held a round of talks in Washington on April 14, which was the first of its kind since 1993, in an attempt to end the war.
Two days after these talks, the United States declared a ceasefire for ten days in the war that led to the death of more than 2400 people in Lebanon, and displaced more than a million.
However, Israel continued its violations despite the ceasefire, and Hezbollah also carried out operations against Israeli soldiers, without this leading to the abortion of the negotiation round.
It should be noted that the ceasefire agreement, which was published by the U.S. State Department last week, stated that Israel reserves what is described as "the right to self-defense" against operations that are being conducted or planned against it.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah criticized direct negotiation with Israel, accusing the government of making concessions, and not achieving political and popular consensus before going to the negotiations, knowing that the party had opened the Lebanese front on March 2 despite the government's rejection to get involved in the ongoing conflict between Iran on one hand, and Israel and America on the other.
However, the Lebanese authorities reiterated that the decision on negotiation and the matters of war and peace are confined to it, emphasizing that the choice of negotiation aims to spare the country from further tragedies.
