Military delegations from the United States, Lebanon and Israel are discussing the geographical borders of the “pilot zones“ in southern Lebanon, which are currently under Israeli occupation, in talks in Washington, the office of the president of the republic announced in X.
“Within the framework of the current fifth round of talks in Washington, a trilateral meeting of military delegations was held on Wednesday,“ the statement said. “The meeting made progress regarding the establishment of “pilot zones“, which will be transferred to the control of the Lebanese army after the withdrawal of Israeli troops.“
The text notes that the negotiators are discussing “geographical boundaries of the zones and the mechanism for implementing the agreements reached“.
The project to create “pilot zones“ was proposed by the United States at the fourth round of negotiations in Washington, which took place on June 2-3. During the experiment, the Lebanese military will have to demonstrate its ability to control the situation and counter possible attacks by the Shiite organization Hezbollah, whose fighters are required to completely withdraw from the territory south of the Litani River.
Earlier, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that negotiators in Washington “are taking steps to consolidate the ceasefire, which will be followed by the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of the Lebanese army, which will allow the process of post-war reconstruction to begin“.