Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, praised on Tuesday a “historic opportunity” for Lebanon and Israel to make peace by bringing the two countries to Washington for direct talks, the first of their kind since 1993.
The notable absence from the meeting was the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which denounced the discussions as “surrender” and claimed responsibility for firing rockets towards 13 Israeli border towns at the start.
Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East conflict at the beginning of March by the Shiite movement in support of Iran, targeted by a broad Israeli-American offensive.
While the Iranian front has calmed down since the ceasefire came into effect on April 8, Lebanon is not included in the truce according to Israel, which continues to strike Hezbollah and has not pulled out of the southern part of the country.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed hope that the negotiations signal “the beginning of the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people.”
“This is a historical opportunity,” stated Marco Rubio while meeting the ambassadors of the two countries at the State Department. “It is about permanently ending 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah’s influence in this part of the world. It goes beyond just a day, it will take time.”
“We want to achieve peace and normalization with the Lebanese state,” had previously assured the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar. “There are no major issues between Israel and Lebanon. The problem is Hezbollah.”
Difficult negotiations lie ahead, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set two conditions: the disarmament of the Shiite organization and the pursuit of a “true peace agreement,” as both countries are technically in a state of war for decades.
Since the beginning of March, over 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes, with around a million people displaced, according to authorities.
In parallel, negotiations between Americans and Iranians could resume in Pakistan “in the next two days,” as announced by Donald Trump to the New York Post.
