The first day of the fifth round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations ended at the US State Department's headquarters in Washington, amid an atmosphere described by informed Lebanese sources as "difficult and complex" in light of the overlapping security and political files and the effects of the recent Iranian-American agreement, especially with regard to the mechanism for following up on the implementation of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
The session concluded at around midnight on Tuesday-Wednesday after about 8 hours of continuous discussions, and will resume on Wednesday afternoon Beirut time.
Preliminary information indicates that the discussion is focused on security arrangements and the mechanism of the Israeli army's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, in light of the Lebanese insistence on a full withdrawal from the points that the Lebanese army intends to enter as part of its plan to limit the weapons, in exchange for an Israeli insistence on staying in some axes that Tel Aviv considers a "strategy" until the "seriousness" of the Lebanese steps is verified.
During the talks, a US official said that US State Department Adviser Dan Holler and Assistant Secretary of War for International Security Affairs Daniel Zimmerman opened the joint session that brought the two sides together within the framework of a gradual military-political track, followed by a military session and then a political closing session.
The common goal is to "put a definitive end to the cycle of violence," the official said, stressing that Washington allows Lebanon and Israel to negotiate "as sovereign states" and work to find a path that ensures peace and security.
According to the US official, the talks will continue in the coming days with the aim of pushing towards a comprehensive agreement, but the complexities of the first day showed that there is still a long way to go, and that the issues on the table go beyond field arrangements to touch the essence of the conflict and the limits of regional influence after the war.
Aoun: Negotiations with Israel are the only way
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Tuesday afternoon, in a meeting at the presidential palace in the presence of the army chief and members of the advisory team accompanying the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, that the developments of the past days have proven the correctness of the option of going to negotiations, considering it the "only track" adopted globally to achieve national goals and restore rights.
Aoun added that the Lebanese delegation has entered a new round of talks "which we hope will be decisive," stressing that "the good we seek is the restoration of Lebanon's full sovereignty over every atom of soil and the extension of state authority over our entire land."
In conjunction with the Washington talks , Aoun received a phone call from US Vice President Jay de Vance and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, during which they discussed the latest developments related to the situation in Lebanon and the post-Swiss meeting.
Vance and Rubio affirmed the United States' support for the Lebanese government's positions in their efforts to extend the authority of the legitimate state and strengthen its sovereignty over the entire Lebanese territory through the army and security forces alone, and enable it to implement its obligations in this regard.
According to a Lebanese statement, the two US officials stressed that Washington is following up on the implementation of what was agreed in the meetings in Switzerland, especially the formation of a joint cell from the United States, Lebanon and Iran to stabilize the ceasefire in Lebanon and monitor the measures associated with it, noting that arrangements related to the mechanism of the cell's work and the way it is formed are currently under study.
France enters the crisis line
On Tuesday, the French movement towards Lebanon was highlighted by two separate calls received by Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri from French President Emmanuel Macron, in which they presented the general situation in Lebanon and the region in light of the results of the US-Iranian negotiations held in Switzerland.
Macron stressed Lebanon's position and paying attention to its stability and sovereignty, and the readiness of France and friendly countries to support Lebanon in order to overcome the delicate stage it is going through, whether through international conferences to support the Lebanese army and reconstruction.
For his part, Berri stressed the importance of the ceasefire and Israel's withdrawal from the territories it occupies to the international borders, the deployment of the Lebanese army and the return of the people to their towns, cities and villages in preparation for the launch of the reconstruction workshop.
Berri stressed that the November 2024 agreement is a ready opportunity with a mechanism to stabilize the ceasefire and verify any violations or threats, if it is adopted in the ongoing negotiations in Switzerland.
Washington: No French or UN role in Lebanon
Lebanese media reported yesterday that Washington has approved a Qatari initiative to manage Doha in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hezbollah without neglecting the Lebanese official side, with the aim of reaching a permanent and long-term truce on Lebanon's southern border.
According to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, the US approval of Qatari mediation was conditional on the non-involvement of other parties such as France or the United Nations," according to the newspaper, which is known for its proximity to Hezbollah.
The newspaper added that the Qatari initiative and mediation will later shift from managing the file of the war with Israel to playing a role in addressing Lebanon's internal crises, amid expectations of preparing for "Doha-2" as a framework for reorganizing the political authority in Lebanon.
Lebanese sources considered that the US administration's acknowledgment of fixing a negotiating track with Iran has no longer made Lebanon a separate arena from the major regional arrangements, but has become one of its main keys, and from this particular angle, the Iranian-American-Qatari mechanism has emerged as the clearest expression of the ongoing transformation in the management of the Lebanese file.
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