Rome hosts new round of Israel-Lebanon negotiations

A new round of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will take place in Rome on Tuesday and Wednesday, an official Lebanese source told AFP on Monday.

Italy's Foreign Ministry had said last week that the sixth round of talks would be held, "barring any surprises," on Wednesday and Thursday, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

The discussions will instead begin on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. local time (08:00 GMT), according to the Lebanese official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.

Following five rounds of negotiations in Washington, Israel and Lebanon reached a framework agreement on June 26 aimed at achieving a lasting peace between the two countries, which have been in a state of war for decades.

The agreement calls for the Lebanese Armed Forces to restore authority in southern Lebanon, provided that Hezbollah is disarmed, beginning with several pilot zones from which Israeli forces would withdraw.

"The Lebanese delegation has been instructed to demand the immediate start of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from two pilot zones before any further discussions," the Lebanese presidency said in a statement after a meeting between President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

A U.S. military delegation began talks in Beirut on Saturday with the Lebanese army on implementing the Israeli withdrawal from one of the pilot zones.

The framework agreement was reached after a fragile ceasefire took effect in the fighting between the Israeli military and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Hezbollah, which resumed hostilities by attacking Israel in early March in support of Tehran following an Israeli-U.S. military offensive, opposes the negotiations and refuses to disarm.

Photo: Chat GPT