Rubio sets the broad outlines for Lebanon: peace, sovereignty and Hezbollah’s disarmament

The US State Department announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio received President Joseph Aoun in Washington, where the two sides discussed ways to implement the trilateral framework, along with the most prominent issues related to the situation in Lebanon.

The State Department said Rubio praised what he described as Lebanon’s progress toward peace, stressing the continued US support for the Lebanese government’s efforts aimed at achieving stability and bolstering economic recovery.

The US secretary also renewed, according to the statement, Washington’s backing for the Lebanese state’s efforts to restore its full sovereignty, praising the steps the government is taking within the framework of disarming Hezbollah and dismantling its infrastructure, as part of the process of extending state authority over all its territory.