Beirut [Lebanon], July 19: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will visit the White House to meet his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, as US-led efforts to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah enter a new phase.
He is expected to meet the US president and other senior officials next week to discuss ways to strengthen the ceasefire, secure Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon and "restore security and stability" across the country, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency.
The talks will also focus on extending the Lebanese state's authority across all of its territory.
It will be the first visit to Washington by a Lebanese head of state since Michel Sleiman met then-President Barack Obama in 2009.
The visit comes just days after Lebanese and Israeli officials concluded another round of US-mediated talks in Rome. US officials said the two sides had agreed on the next steps for creating "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops would begin withdrawing, and the Lebanese army would take over security.
The pilot zones are part of a framework agreement reached in June that is meant to gradually end Israel's military presence in southern Lebanon. But the agreement sets no deadline for Israeli forces to leave. Instead, withdrawals are tied to Hezbollah and other armed groups disarming, a condition Hezbollah has rejected.
Even as negotiations continue, Israeli forces have remained inside what they call a 10km (six-mile) "security zone" along the border and have continued carrying out air strikes.
Source: Qatar Tribune
