By Betul Yilmaz
ISTANBUL (AA) – US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut on Monday for further discussions on a US proposal for disarming the Hezbollah group.
The meeting was attended by US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson, the presidency said in a statement, without giving any further details.
Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Türkiye, is expected to receive Lebanon’s response to the proposal that he submitted earlier, the state news agency NNA reported.
The US diplomat’s visit “is part of ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at addressing key political and security concerns in the region," NNA said.
Barrack had presented a roadmap to senior Lebanese officials during his visit to Beirut on June 19, which called for Hezbollah to surrender all its weapons by the end of this year in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from five points it occupies in southern Lebanon and the release of funds allocated for the reconstruction of areas devastated by the recent Israeli war.
Hezbollah, however, firmly rejected handing over its weapons before the “end of the Israeli aggression” against Lebanon.
Cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024. Despite a November ceasefire, Israeli forces have conducted near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah’s activities.
Since then, Lebanese authorities have reported nearly 3,000 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of at least 231 people and injuries to more than 500.
Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Tel Aviv refused to comply.
Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.