Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam assured reporters on Wednesday that Lebanon was not heading towards normalization but towards peace with Israel.
Beirut, MAY 6: The third round of Israeli-Lebanon peace talks could be held as soon as next week, Lebanese news network LBCI reported on Wednesday.
The talks are reportedly set to take place at the US State Department in Washington, DC, on either Wednesday and Thursday or Thursday and Friday next week.
The Lebanese delegation will include former ambassador to Washington Ambassador Simon Karam, current Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh Moawad, Deputy Chief of Mission Consul Wissam Boutros, as well as representatives of the Lebanese army, according to the report.
In preparation for the talks, Moawad met with members of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s team on Monday and Tuesday. The upcoming meetings between Israel and Lebanon were discussed, and the ambassador gave the US officials a list of alleged Israeli violations of the agreement already in place, emphasizing the importance of a ceasefire, LBCI wrote.
Lebanese PM says Lebanon aiming for peace, not normalization
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam assured reporters on Wednesday that Lebanon was not heading towards normalization, but towards peace with Israel, LBCI reported.
He reminded them that this was not the first time Lebanon had negotiated directly with Israel, referencing the talks facilitated by former US envoy Amos Hochstein, which led to a ceasefire agreement in October 2024.
He added that the meeting did not mean the Israel-Lebanon talks were completely divorced from those between the US and Israel.
“Lebanon succeeded in establishing that it is negotiating on its own behalf, but this does not mean the Lebanese track is completely separate from the negotiations track in Islamabad,” LBCI cited Salam as saying.
The goal of the upcoming meetings will be to secure a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the release of prisoners, the resolution of disputed border points, and the ability for all displaced residents to return.
In addition to talks with Israel, Salam stressed the need for internal negotiations to achieve full state authority and restrict weapons to state control.
“We need an international force in southern Lebanon for monitoring, reporting, documentation, and coordination on the ground, a peacekeeping and monitoring force with European participation that takes coordination with the mechanism into account,” Salam said.
Salam also denied any planned meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that such a meeting should be tied to an achievement in the negotiations and require significant preparation and careful timing.
