Lebanese president insists on ceasefire before Israel meeting

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks were needed before any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sought by Washington.

Aoun’s office said in a statement that the president “reiterated his view that the timing is not appropriate now for a meeting” with Netanyahu.

The statement quoted Aoun as saying: “We must first reach a security agreement and stop the Israeli attacks on us before we raise the issue of a meeting between us.”

Israeli and Lebanese representatives last month met twice in Washington — the first such meetings in decades, which came after Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, sparking heavy Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.

After the first talks, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon that began on April 17, and a three-week extension after the second round.

The two countries are preparing for direct negotiations.

The statement from Aoun’s office said a third round of “preparatory talks” were expected “in the coming days”.

At the second meeting later in April, Trump said he expected Aoun and Netanyahu to meet jointly with him at the White House “over the next couple of weeks”.

Last week, the US embassy in Beirut urged such a meeting, saying that “Lebanon stands at a crossroads. Its people have a historic opportunity to reclaim their country and shape their future,” adding that “the time for hesitation is over”.

‘No loss’ –

The planned negotiations have caused a rift in Lebanon, with Hezbollah rejecting direct negotiations as well as Beirut’s previous commitment to disarm it.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem earlier Monday criticised direct talks, saying they put Lebanon “under tutelage”, and instead called for diplomacy that leads to an end to the war.

“Direct negotiations are a gratuitous concession, without results,” Qassem said.

Aoun said “there is no turning back from the path of negotiations, because we have no other option”, according to the statement from his office, reiterating that the process sought to achieve the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

Earlier Monday, US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa told journalists that “to me, if the president (Aoun) visited President Trump, there is no loss”.

Aoun “can go and present his decisions clearly” to Trump and Netanyahu, and after returning to Lebanon “we can begin negotiations. I don’t know why people consider this a loss or concession”, Issa said.

Aoun “will go to present all Lebanon’s demands, most importantly the sovereignty of its lands”, Issa said, noting full Lebanese territorial sovereignty was a key Hezbollah demand.

Israeli strikes have killed almost 2,700 people in Lebanon, including dozens since the ceasefire.

AFP