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WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Israeli and Lebanese envoys met in Washington on Tuesday as Israel pressed its war on Hizbollah, a diplomatic milestone overshadowed by conflicting agendas with Israel ruling out discussion of a ceasefire and demanding Beirut disarm the group.
The meeting comes at a critical juncture in the crisis in the Middle East, a week into a fragile ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Iran says Israel's campaign against Hizbollah in Lebanon must be included in any agreement to end the wider war, complicating talks mediated by Pakistan aimed at averting further economic fallout. The conflict has snared global energy supply and spiked oil prices, piling pressure on US President Donald Trump to find an off-ramp.
In a sign Washington wants to see progress in the talks, Trump's top diplomat and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio appeared at the start of the meeting alongside the Israeli ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, and his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad. State Department Counsellor Michael Needham, US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, and US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, a personal friend of Trump, were also participating.
It marks a rare encounter between representatives of governments that have remained technically in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948.
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