Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said during a press conference: “We want to reach peace and normalization with the State of Lebanon... There are no major differences between Israel and Lebanon. The problem is Hezbollah.”
He added: “The Washington talks are based first on Lebanon declaring its desire to de-escalate and confirming that Hezbollah’s activities are illegal.”
This comes as talks are being held between Lebanon and Israel at the ambassadorial level in Washington, at the U.S. State Department, on Tuesday, in a step considered the first of its kind in decades.
In the same context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced that he agreed to hold direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible,” noting that the decision came in response to Lebanese requests, and that the talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the two countries.
President Joseph Aoun had launched an initiative on March 9 aimed at halting the renewed Israeli escalation against Lebanon, based on a comprehensive truce, an end to attacks, support for the Lebanese army to impose its authority in areas of tension, and the confiscation of illegal weapons, in addition to paving the way for negotiations with Israel.
