KABUL (Pajhwok): The US Department of State has announced that a new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Washington, DC, next week.
The statement on Friday came shortly after Israel and Hezbollah announced a renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, where ongoing fighting has threatened to derail the US–Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the war, Al Jazeera reported.
The State Department said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday, “underscoring that Lebanon’s bilateral negotiations with Israel represent the only feasible path to reconstruction, economic recovery, and ending recurrent cycles of violence.”
The two leaders discussed upcoming talks scheduled for June 23 and 25, during which “the two sovereign governments will make progress toward a lasting peace.”
Israel and Lebanon held their first round of direct talks in April, marking the first such engagement since 1993.
Following that meeting, and a subsequent round of discussions in June, both sides announced pauses in fighting.
However, Hezbollah has not been included in the negotiations, a factor that continues to hinder meaningful progress.
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