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Lebanese president meets US envoy to discuss southern Lebanon
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun discussed the latest developments in southern Lebanon during his meeting today with Deputy US Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus.
According to a statement from the Lebanese presidency, the two discussed issues related to southern Lebanon, the international monitoring committee working to ensure the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah does not return to all-out war, the Israeli withdrawal from the country and the situation in the south.
Aoun and Ortagus also discussed the situation on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
Lebanon resists calls for Israel talks, fears normalisation may prompt divisions across the nation
We know what the US and the Israelis want from Lebanon: They want the Lebanese authorities to agree to political negotiations, to sit down for direct talks with the Israelis and discuss outstanding issues like border demarcation.
But Lebanese authorities say they are not ready for that. They are ready for military talks, technical talks, because they believe political negotiations can lure this country into normalising ties with Israel, which is a very divisive issue here.
There’s also the issue of Hezbollah. [US Deputy Envoy to the Middle East] Morgan Ortagus visited Lebanon in February, and she was very clear when she said the United States expects Lebanon to fully disarm Hezbollah – she reiterated that before arriving in Lebanon.
But this time, she has made no statement, which is raising many concerns in the country on whether she has issued some sort of ultimatum to Lebanon’s new leaders.
There is a shift in the balance of power in this country, and the United States is the main player. Lebanon’s new leadership has said it is committed to disarming all non-state actors in Lebanon, but it needs time.
It cannot force Hezbollah into disarming because this could risk internal strife in the country, and Hezbollah has made clear it is not ready to hand over its weapons to the state. It is cooperating with the army in southern Lebanon, but it won’t hand over its weapons until Israel fully withdraws from Lebanese territory, and until what it calls a national defence strategy comes into effect.
