Lebanese president pledges to implement framework agreement with Israel in call with Trump

Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun pledged that the Lebanese state would assume its responsibilities in implementing the US-brokered framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel during a phone call with US President Donald Trump late Saturday, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency.

Aoun also expressed hope that the United States would help prevent violations of the agreement and ensure that all commitments reached under the deal are fulfilled, particularly by pressing Israel to withdraw from the areas it occupies in southern Lebanon to facilitate the deployment of the Lebanese army up to the internationally recognised border.

Trump reaffirmed Washington’s support for Lebanon and its people, pledging to work toward implementing the deal and restoring security and stability in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US president said Washington would support Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, as well as the extension of state authority through its armed forces across the country’s entire territory.

At the end of the call, Trump said he looked forward to meeting Aoun in Washington in the near future.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel and Lebanon had reached a framework agreement for “lasting peace and security.”

The agreement, signed at the end of the latest round of ambassador-level talks in Washington, D.C., called again for the implementation of a fragile ceasefire between the two nations.

“Today is a good day in that we are happy to announce the – a framework agreement between the sovereign Government of Lebanon and of course the Government of Israel, with the mediation and support of the United States of America, that begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security. And that’s what these two nations deserve,” Rubio said during the signing ceremony.

The framework aims to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, dismantle Hizballah’s military infrastructure and enable Israeli forces to return to their borders once security threats are removed.

IANS