Published 04.31
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US Vice President JD Vance have held talks about plans for de-escalation of the conflict in the country.
At the same time, Israel says it continues to have “full freedom of action” to respond to threats in southern Lebanon.
During the negotiations between the US and Iran in Switzerland, the parties came to the conclusion, among other things, of establishing a contact group with the aim of creating a lasting calm in the Lebanon war. Israel and the Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah have repeatedly attacked each other in recent months, although a ceasefire was announced on Friday.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who did not participate in the negotiations, has now spoken to US Vice President JD Vance, along with Trump envoy Jared Kushner and the mediator Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin al-Thani.
The parties discussed “the issue of consolidating the ceasefire in Lebanon, stopping the Israeli military escalation and the measures that should be taken, including the possibility of establishing a working group for this purpose,” according to a statement from the Lebanese government.
– We really believe we can reach a point where Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty is protected, and Israel’s security is protected, JD Vance later told reporters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, says that the Israeli military (IDF) has been granted “full freedom of action” to respond to any threats arising in southern Lebanon.
“My directive, and that of the defense minister, to the IDF is clear and has not changed: Our soldiers in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to repel any direct or emerging threat to them or to the residents of the north,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Monday.
