Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told US President Donald Trump that the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory is essential to strengthening stability and allowing the country to expand its authority, Reuters reported, citing the Lebanese presidency, BTA reported.
During their first meeting, the two leaders discussed plans to disarm the Iranian-backed Shiite armed movement "Hezbollah" and to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The Lebanese presidency said they also discussed Washington's support for the Lebanese army, the country's reconstruction, economic support and US investment.
The meeting between the two leaders took place as part of Aoun's four-day visit to Washington. This is the first meeting between Joseph Aoun and a US president, and the first visit by a Lebanese head of state to the White House since 2009. Lebanon and Israel, meanwhile, are holding direct talks mediated by Washington. Before his election as president last year, Aoun was commander of the US-backed Lebanese army.
Trump welcomed Aoun outside the White House, shook his hand and described him as "a highly respected man". The two did not answer journalists' questions related to relations between Lebanon and Israel, but a little later the American president unexpectedly allowed media representatives into the Oval Office, although the meeting was initially announced to take place without the presence of journalists.
Aoun's nearly two-hour visit to the White House took place against the backdrop of the ongoing occupation by Israeli troops of part of southern Lebanon and the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who remain displaced as a result of the Israeli strikes. "Hezbollah" rejected the government's direct talks with Israel, as well as the country's efforts to disarm it, Reuters notes.
The conversation highlighted the delicate balance that Aoun is trying to maintain - seeking Trump's help to secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, while at the same time being under pressure from the United States and Israel to disarm "Hezbollah".
"Lebanon is a country that has been treated unfairly for decades. We will help change that and treat her with the respect she deserves," Trump said during his meeting with Aoun in the Oval Office of the White House.
In a statement after the meeting, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun had stressed to Trump "the urgent need for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory," describing it as "an essential step to strengthen stability and to enable the Lebanese state to exercise its full sovereignty exclusively through its own forces."