Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter said he will not discuss a ceasefire with the Shiite movement Hezbollah with his Lebanese counterpart Nada Hamada Muawad at US-organized talks on April 14.
“Israel has refused to discuss a ceasefire with the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which continues to attack Israel and is the main obstacle to peace between the two countries,“ Leiter was quoted as saying by the “Times of Israel“ newspaper.
Earlier, the Lebanese president's office reported that the ambassadors had agreed to meet at the State Department on April 14 to discuss ceasefire talks.
Axios previously reported, that the US and Lebanon have asked Israel to halt attacks on Hezbollah positions until talks scheduled for next week begin.
According to the portal's sources, “some Israeli officials agree and believe that declaring a pause would be in the“ interests“ of the Jewish state.
Axios emphasized that the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in Washington held a preparatory three-way phone call on April 10 with one of the advisers to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after which the Lebanese leadership announced an agreement to hold talks on April 14.