By Betul Yilmaz
ISTANBUL (AA) – US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said on Tuesday that Israel has agreed to withdraw from southern Lebanon if Hezbollah gives up its weapons.
Israel “will withdraw in the same cadence” as Hezbollah disarms itself, Barrack told a press conference in Beirut following his meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
He said the Lebanese government will present a plan on Aug. 31 to persuade Hezbollah to disarm itself.
On Aug. 5, the Lebanese government approved a plan to consolidate all weapons under state control. The government tasked the army with drafting a plan to achieve this by the end of the month and executing it before the end of 2025. Hezbollah rejected the decision, calling it a “grave sin.”
The US envoy said Washington will extend the mission of the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL in southern Lebanon through the UN “for one year.”
Regarding Syria-Lebanon relations, Barrack stressed that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa “has no interest in having an adversarial relationship with Lebanon in any way.”