U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Friday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun about negotiations with Israel, as the Pentagon hosted U.S.-mediated military talks between Israel and Lebanon.
“The secretary commended President Aoun’s courage and vision in pursuing direct negotiations with Israel, even as Hezbollah continues its attempts to derail those talks at the expense of the Lebanese people,” Tommy Pigott, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, stated.
Rubio “reiterated that Hezbollah is entirely responsible for the ongoing fighting and emphasized the need for Hezbollah to immediately cease its attacks and provocations to enable de-escalation,” according to Pigott.
“The secretary reaffirmed that the United States fully supports the government of Lebanon as it works to seize a historic opportunity to deliver peace, reconstruction and a better future for its people.”
According to the Lebanese presidency, Aoun told Rubio that implementing a ceasefire with Israel was “the essential entry point for transitioning to any other issues.”
The diplomatic push came as Israeli forces expanded operations in Southern Lebanon on Friday, issuing evacuation warnings for several villages and advancing deeper into Hezbollah-held areas north of the Litani River.
Israeli and Lebanese military delegations opened a new round of U.S.-brokered talks at the Pentagon earlier Friday, part of what American officials have described as a broader effort to stabilize the border and prevent renewed escalation. The discussions are the latest in a series of direct contacts between the two countries, which remain formally at war.
Aoun said earlier in May that he would not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until a security agreement is reached and Israeli attacks on Lebanon cease.
