The leader of the Hezbollah militant movement, Naim Qasim, on Monday called on the Lebanese government to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington. He also reiterated that Hezbollah refuses to hold direct negotiations with the Jewish state, with which it has been at war since March 2. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
The first meeting between the Israeli ambassador and the Lebanese ambassador is to take place in the United States on Tuesdayon the grounds of the US Department of Foreign Affairs. They will discuss the possibility of starting direct negotiations between the two countries.
Lebanon also said it wanted to use the ambassadors’ meeting to push for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, in which it has been drawn. “We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity… We call for a historic and heroic stance by canceling this negotiating session,” Kasím declared on television.
Israel and the United States say Lebanon is not included in the two-week ceasefire deal with Iran announced last Wednesday night. Tehran and Pakistan’s Islamabad, which acts as a mediator in the negotiations, insist otherwise.
The media reported last week that Lebanon has made the start of direct talks with Israel conditional on a temporary ceasefire. But Tel Aviv allegedly rejects this proposal. Beirut also wants the US to act as a mediator and guarantor of any agreement.
