Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told US President Donald Trump yesterday that a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory was essential to consolidating stability and enabling the state to extend its authority, the Lebanese presidency said.
In their first meeting, the two leaders discussed plans to disarm the Iran-backed Hizbollah and secure Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
The Lebanese presidency said they also discussed US support for Lebanon’s army, reconstruction, economic recovery and American investment.
Aoun’s nearly two-hour visit took place as Israeli troops continue to occupy a swath of the country’s south and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese remain displaced following Israeli strikes. Hizbollah has rejected the government’s direct talks with Israel as well as efforts by the state to disarm it.
The talks highlighted Aoun’s delicate balancing act – seeking Trump’s help to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon while simultaneously facing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hizbollah, which remains a formidable fighting force despite recent setbacks.
“It’s been a very badly treated place and country, and we’re going to have it properly treated and treated with respect that it deserves,” Trump said as he met Aoun in the White House’s Oval Office. “There’s a Hizbollah problem.”
Aoun, who served as the commander of Lebanon’s US-backed army before being elected president last year, was the first Lebanese head of state to visit the White House in nearly 20 years.
In a statement after the talks, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun stressed to Trump the “urgent need for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory,” calling it “an essential step to consolidate stability and enable the Lebanese state to extend its full sovereignty exclusively through its own forces.”
Trump said in a social media post after the meeting that he was directing his administration to allow all US airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon.
“Hopefully, other countries will do the same,” Trump wrote.
In a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, Aoun said Israel should begin withdrawing from southern Lebanon in line with a US-brokered June 26 agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
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