US Secretary of State Meets Lebanese President in Washington

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington on Sunday. The talks at the State Department marked the first visit by a Lebanese head of state to the US capital since Michel Sleiman met Barack Obama in 2009. Lebanese officials said Aoun is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Rubio commended the Lebanese government for its determined effort to reclaim Lebanon's sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure, and move towards peace, the State Department said. Rubio added that Washington remained committed to supporting the successful implementation of the Trilateral Framework and to backing the Government of Lebanon's efforts to deliver peace, economic recovery, and a better future for the Lebanese people.

Israel and Lebanon began US-sponsored negotiations in April to reach a peace deal and permanently end the Israel-Hezbollah war.

On June 26 the two sides reached a framework agreement in Washington under which the Israeli military is to withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army is to deploy, starting with two pilot zones. The agreement is contingent on the disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has rejected both the deal and the negotiations.

Following the latest round of talks last week in Rome, Israel and Lebanon agreed on the structure and guidelines for implementing the pilot zones, according to the United States.

Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 when it began striking Israel in support of its backer Iran. The United States carried out airstrikes on Sunday to punish Iran after the first US military deaths since open hostilities rekindled the Middle East war.