Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meet at White House
This is the first meeting between a Lebanese president and a U.S. president since Michel Sleiman's meeting with Barack Obama in 2009, and it comes at a time when Lebanese authorities are negotiating Israel's withdrawal from the areas of southern Lebanon it has occupied since the last war with Hezbollah.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met this Sunday in Washington with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, a State Department official told AFP.
Aoun, who arrived in the U.S. capital on Saturday, is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency.
The first meeting in nearly 20 years
This is the first meeting between a Lebanese president and a U.S. president since Michel Sleiman's meeting with Barack Obama in 2009 and comes as Lebanese authorities negotiate Israel's withdrawal from the areas of southern Lebanon it has occupied since the last war with Hezbollah.
In addition to the bilateral summit at the White House, Aoun will meet with several U.S. officials to discuss the situation in his country and the ongoing talks with Israel, the presidency reported on Saturday.
Extended talks
On June 26, they reached a framework agreement in Washington, which provides for the deployment of the Lebanese army in "pilot zones" evacuated by Israel, contingent on Hezbollah's disarmament.
Following the sixth round of negotiations in Rome, which concluded on Wednesday, both countries reached an agreement on the structure and guidelines for this process, according to a U.S. official.
Hezbollah rejected both the direct talks and the framework agreement.
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