The Lebanese Prime Minister considers it still “premature” to talk about a meeting between Aoun and Netanyahu

The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Nawaf Salam, stated this Wednesday that it is still “premature” to talk about a possible meeting between the country’s president, Joseph Aoun, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and has emphasized that Beirut’s main demand is to establish a calendar for the Israeli withdrawal.

Salam clarified during a press conference that Lebanon does not seek “the normalization of relations with Israel, but peace”, and recalled that “this is not the first time” that Beirut “participates in direct negotiations with Israel.”

Likewise, he has reiterated that any new round of talks that could be held in Washington must be based on consolidating the ceasefire reached in April and that Israel and the Shiite militia party Hezbollah have accused each other of violating, as reported by the NNA news agency.

His words come after the United States Embassy in Beirut published a message on social media in which it assured that this possible meeting “would give Lebanon the opportunity to obtain concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, border security, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete reestablishment of the authority of the Lebanese State over every inch of its territory.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun declared this week that “this is not the right time for a meeting” with Netanyahu, claiming that before them the two sides must “reach a security agreement” and thus “stop Israeli attacks” in Lebanon.

Thus, he stated that “preparatory talks are planned with the Lebanese ambassador in Washington (Nada Hamadé Moauad) in the coming days”, pointing to a third meeting to end the clashes between the Israeli Army and Hezbollah.

The last large-scale hostilities in the country broke out on March 2, when Hezbollah launched projectiles against Israel in response to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the offensive launched on February 28 by Israel and the United States against the Asian country.

Previously, the parties had agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024 after thirteen months of fighting following the attacks of October 7, 2023, although since then Israel continued to launch frequent bombings against the country and maintained the presence of the military in several points, arguing that it was acting against Hezbollah, amid complaints from Beirut and the group about these actions.

The last high-level talks between Lebanon and Israel, which do not maintain diplomatic relations, occurred in 1993, although not at the rank of president and prime minister. If they occur, they would mark a milestone in an open negotiating process while the Israeli offensive in Lebanon continues – including the invasion of the south -, whose Ministry of Health estimates more than 2,700 deaths.