Amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Washington hosted a meeting between Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, and her Israeli counterpart, Yechiel Leiter.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the meeting, expressing hope that the two countries could agree on a framework for a peace process.
A U.S. State Department official told Alhurra’s Washington bureau chief, Joe Kawly, that the American objective is clear and unambiguous, stating: “Our goal is simple and straightforward: to ensure Israel’s long-term security, alongside the restoration of the Lebanese government’s full sovereignty over its territory and political affairs.”
Regarding the possibility of the two sides meeting again in the future, the official added: “Let’s be clear about the nature of this war—Israel is fighting Hezbollah, not Lebanon. Therefore, the idea that Israelis and Lebanese cannot even sit in the same room? That is illogical. They must talk. That’s all we are asking here.”
The two countries have entered their first direct negotiations since 1983, with differing agendas. Israel has ruled out discussing a ceasefire—one of Lebanon’s primary demands—and is instead calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the two countries, noting that he had tasked the security cabinet with advancing this track quickly.
Netanyahu also stressed that “there will be no ceasefire in Lebanon before security is achieved in northern Israel.”
The Israeli position was preceded by an initiative launched on March 9 by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, aimed at preventing a slide into a broader war.
Aoun called for international support for a comprehensive approach beginning with a full ceasefire, including logistical support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and the deployment of the army in areas of tension, alongside efforts to dismantle Hezbollah’s weapons stockpiles, according to available information.
The Lebanese proposal also included launching direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under international sponsorship, with the goal of agreeing on mechanisms to implement these steps and entrench lasting stability along the border.
A Lebanese official source told Alhurra last week that the general direction among political forces—including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri—is to engage in any negotiating track, provided a ceasefire is reached first, noting a consensus among the country’s three presidents on this principle.
In the same context, sources at the presidential palace told Alhurra that “the current priority is to reach a truce similar to the model achieved between Washington and Tehran, paving the way for negotiations, with Lebanese negotiating terms to be discussed later.”
For his part, Agriculture Minister Dr. Nizar Hani told Alhurra that “the condition for any negotiations, according to the Lebanese initiative, is a ceasefire first before moving to any negotiating track.”
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Alhurra
Joe Kawly
Joe Kawly is Washington Bureau Chief for MBN and a global affairs journalist with more than twenty years covering U.S. foreign policy and Middle East politics.
A CNN Journalism Fellow and Georgetown University graduate, he reports from Washington at the intersection of power and diplomacy, explaining how decisions made in the U.S. capital shape events across the Arab world.
