A Lebanese official source told Asharq Al-Awsat there were “serious US efforts” to secure the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel before the launch of direct negotiations between the two countries under US sponsorship next Thursday.
The source said that if the efforts fail, Lebanon will take part in the meetings but “will refuse to discuss any further details before the ceasefire is secured.”
The source said President Joseph Aoun was satisfied with the progress of the negotiation efforts and with Lebanon’s preparations for the talks.
The Lebanese military would be represented in the negotiations by Oliver Hakme, the military attaché at the Lebanese embassy in Washington, he added.
The source said the negotiations would be “a continuation of the two rounds of talks held in Naqoura on the Lebanese border, headed by Ambassador Simon Karam for the Lebanese delegation, with the positive addition of a higher level of US representation in these negotiations.”
The first meeting would focus on “general discussions, with no specific agenda,” continued the source, reiterating Lebanon’s position that “there will be no progress on any other point before the ceasefire is secured.”
Aoun was in “full and close” coordination with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on the negotiations, he added. Aoun was also satisfied with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s recent positions on the strength of his relationship with the president, who agrees with him that any agreement needs guarantees because Israel is known for breaking its commitments.
Separately, an official statement said Aoun received former ambassador Simon Karam, the head of the Lebanese delegation to the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, and gave him his instructions before he traveled to Washington.
Aoun also received a phone call from British National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, during which they discussed the situation in Lebanon and the region in light of recent developments and continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Aoun asked Powell to press Israel to abide by the ceasefire and stop demolition and bulldozing work in the southern villages and towns it occupies.
Aoun met with EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib. He told her that support provided by EU states to Lebanon should be directed toward pressure to force Israel to abide by the ceasefire, refrain from blowing up and bulldozing homes in villages in the south, and stop targeting paramedics, journalists and civil defense workers.
Aoun said Lebanon was committed to a ceasefire and to ending all military action as a starting point for negotiations that would end the unstable situation in the south, paving the way for the army to redeploy up to the international border, for Lebanese prisoners to be released, and for displaced people to return to their towns and villages.
Aoun briefed Lahbib on the large human losses caused by Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the rise in the number of displaced people to about one million, and the severe material damage to homes, property and crops.
Meanwhile, PM Salam received Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal. They discussed the situation in the south, efforts to secure the ceasefire, and the security situation in Beirut.
