Lebanon’s and Israel’s ambassadors to Washington are preparing for a second meeting after an initial round on Tuesday at the US State Department, hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The meeting is aimed at shaping talks and securing a ceasefire pushed by Washington before launching a negotiation track between the two countries.
Lebanon is pressing ahead with direct negotiations with Israel under US sponsorship, describing it as the only viable option to end the war, as the military track has stalled and failed to secure a ceasefire for 45 days, according to ministerial sources following the talks.
The sources said Washington is acting as “mediator, facilitator, and driver of the talks,” while also “pressuring Tel Aviv to implement a ceasefire.”
Rubio launched the talks on Tuesday, attended by Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israel’s ambassador Yechiel Leiter.
He described the meeting as the beginning of a long process aimed at reaching a final solution to Hezbollah’s influence in the region, rather than merely securing a ceasefire.
Second meeting
Lebanese ministerial sources said the first session marked “the start of a process aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement that would pave the way for negotiations under a mechanism to be agreed upon.”
They stressed the meeting was not a negotiating round, but a launch of the process, to be followed by setting a date for formal talks.
The sources revealed a second meeting would be held between the two ambassadors under US mediation to cement a ceasefire and continue the process afterward.
Rubio cautioned that the complexities of the conflict would not be resolved in a single day, framing the meeting as a “process” to lay the groundwork for future peace.
However, the sources said the atmosphere was “not tense and did not produce negative signals,” adding that Rubio “played a key role in backing the Lebanese position on implementing a ceasefire and strongly pushed for meeting Lebanon’s condition to move the file forward toward negotiations.”
Freedom of action
Lebanon is insisting on implementing the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024, which it says Israel violated.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat sources, Beirut is demanding an end to Israeli assassinations, warnings, and attacks carried out over the past 15 months, demands Israel rejects as it insists on maintaining “freedom of action.”
The sources said the Israeli side presented its own vision, while Lebanon presented its demands through Moawad, with the US side speaking before the exchange of ideas began.
Rubio then intervened to support the Lebanese push for a ceasefire, they added, describing the US role as “more than a facilitator,” with the secretary of state acting as a driver of the talks.
The ambassadors’ role is expected to conclude once a ceasefire is secured, after which a formal negotiation will begin at a location yet to be determined. Participants have already been agreed upon by both sides, with technical committees to be formed later for follow-up and discussions.
Framework agreement
A framework agreement for negotiations is expected once a ceasefire is reached. Lebanon’s priorities begin with an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories, followed by the return of residents, reconstruction, and the release of detainees. Israel, however, insists on disarming Hezbollah during these stages.
Lebanese estimates suggest progress would be step-by-step, with each issue addressed before moving to the next.
For Lebanon, the track represents the only available path to end the war, death, and destruction.
Despite opposition from Hezbollah, Beirut points to precedents of direct negotiations, including the 1949 armistice agreement; the May 17, 1983 talks; the Madrid and Washington negotiations in 1993; and UN-sponsored maritime border talks in 2022, where representatives of both sides sat in the same room without addressing each other directly, instead speaking through US or UN mediators.
Political backing
The negotiation track has garnered domestic political support, except from Hezbollah.
Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar said Lebanon’s priority is reaching a ceasefire, stressing the importance of support from friendly and allied countries, as well as the key role of UN agencies, particularly as more than one million Lebanese have been displaced during the conflict.
The Kataeb party welcomed the launch of direct negotiations under US sponsorship, calling it “the only way to secure a ceasefire, end hostilities, ensure Israel’s withdrawal from occupied areas in southern Lebanon, enable displaced residents to return, achieve stability in Lebanon, and establish peace.”
It stressed the need for the Lebanese state to continue implementing its decisions on seizing all illegal weapons and banning Hezbollah’s military and security activities across Lebanese territory.
