New Details About Rubio's Meeting with the Lebanese Prime Minister in Washington

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An American source revealed that the meeting held by Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Washington on Monday was positive, but Rubio emphasized the need to expedite the implementation of all commitments by the Lebanese state.

The source told "Al Arabiya/Al Hadath" on Tuesday that Rubio confirmed to Salam that "the trilateral framework represents the only path to achieving lasting peace between Lebanon and Israel," noting that the disarmament of Hezbollah is a fundamental item in the framework agreement between the two sides, but this commitment has not yet been implemented.

The American minister also clarified that the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south of the country is not sufficient without the disarmament of Hezbollah, stressing that Lebanon must take tangible steps on this issue before demanding any additional Israeli withdrawal.

He also pointed out that the United States calls on the Lebanese army to assert its full control over the south and to prevent any armed presence of Hezbollah, while affirming Washington's support for Lebanon as a sovereign state away from "the harmful influence of Hezbollah and Iran."

Salam had called during his meeting with Rubio to activate the framework agreement that was signed between Lebanon and Israel.

The Prime Minister emphasized, according to a statement issued by his office on Monday, the "necessity of moving to the stage of activating the tripartite framework and translating the principles of reciprocity and gradualism into practical steps and tangible results on the ground, leading to the restoration of Lebanon's full sovereignty, achieving the complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories, and restricting arms to the state across its entire territory."

He also confirmed "the importance of establishing a clear timeline for implementing the commitments outlined in the framework, ensuring the progress of both the Israeli withdrawal and the authority of the state and the exclusivity of arms, alongside creating a reliable verification mechanism to monitor implementation and ensure adherence to commitments, preventing the use of non-implementation as an excuse to disrupt the process."

For its part, the U.S. State Department announced in a statement that Rubio reaffirmed, during his meeting with Salam, the strong commitment of the United States to support Lebanon's efforts to implement the tripartite framework, which represents the only path to lasting peace between Lebanon and Israel.

The minister also praised Salam's government and its efforts to establish state authority, reiterating the United States' support for the sovereignty of the Lebanese state "away from the destructive influence of Hezbollah and Iran."

It is worth mentioning that the war in the Middle East, which began with an American-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, extended to Lebanon on March 2, with Hezbollah launching rockets at Israel "in retaliation" for the killing of leader Ali Khamenei.

In response, Israel carried out a wide-ranging campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion of areas in southern Lebanon.

The pace of violence decreased after Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement on June 26 following 5 rounds of direct negotiations under American sponsorship, which stipulated the disarmament of Hezbollah and Israel's gradual withdrawal from the territories it occupies in southern Lebanon, with the deployment of the Lebanese army starting from "experimental" areas.

Accordingly, the army was deployed in July in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbi after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from its outskirts, and it reinforced its presence in the towns of Sarifa and Frun. However, no new areas were agreed upon.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to launch attacks on southern Lebanon, as well as carrying out explosions and demolitions in the towns it occupies.

The failure to implement the agreement comes at a time when a new round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel has been postponed to October, after being scheduled for September, according to France Presse.