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Lebanese PM to Visit Damascus ‘Soon’

25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
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Lebanese PM to Visit Damascus ‘Soon’

25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)
25 June 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a meeting in Beirut. (dpa)

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister is to visit Damascus "soon", the information minister said on Tuesday -- the first such visit since opposition factions seized power in Syria last month.

"There will be a visit to Syria soon, headed by Prime Minister (Najib) Mikati," Ziad Makary told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Last week, Mikati's office said he had a phone call with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who invited him to Damascus.

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Lebanon's PM Says Country to Begin Disarming South Litani to Ensure State Presence

President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
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Lebanon's PM Says Country to Begin Disarming South Litani to Ensure State Presence

President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that the state will begin disarming southern Lebanon, particularly the south Litani region, to establish its presence across the country.
"We are in a new phase - in this new phase, we will start with south Lebanon and south Litani specifically in order to pull weapons so that the state can be present across Lebanese territory," Mikati said.

Mikati's remarks followed a meeting with newly elected President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Presidential Palace. Aoun was elected as the country's new head of state by parliament on Thursday, ending a vacancy in the presidency that had persisted for over two years.

In his address to parliament, Aoun pledged to control weapons outside the state's control, saying the government is the sole entity authorized to possess and use military force and weapons.
A ceasefire agreement that ended the 13-month-conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in November has given the Lebanese party 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces are also required to withdraw from the area over the same period.
The ceasefire agreement says Israeli forces will move south of the Blue Line “in a phased manner” within 60 days. The Lebanese army’s troops will deploy “in parallel” to the positions.