US: Israel–Lebanon Talks Productive

Washington: The first high-level meeting between Israel and Lebanon in decades was “productive” and will continue with the aim of starting direct negotiations, the State Department said.

“All parties agreed to initiate direct negotiations at a mutually agreed upon time and place,” the ministry said in a statement issued after a two-hour meeting in Washington between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon. The statement was included.

Israel is fighting Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and is demanding the disarmament of the unrepresented group that opposes the talks.