OMM Redaksiyası
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said Wednesday that direct negotiations with Israel under US auspices were the only way to regain Lebanese territory and enable residents to return to their villages, according to a Lebanese Foreign Ministry statement.
Rajji made the remarks at a discussion organized by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. The meeting, chaired by former US diplomat Elliott Abrams, was attended by council members, journalists and representatives of research centers.
Lebanon calls for state control over weapons
The discussion covered the situation in Lebanon, delays in implementing a framework agreement, Hezbollah’s weapons, the future of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and relations with Syria’s new government.
Rajji said Lebanon’s priority was to restore stability and allow the country to become a cultural, tourism and economic hub in the region again. He added that this could not happen while weapons remained outside state control.
The minister described the government’s decision to place all weapons under state authority as “courageous”. He said Lebanon’s stability and prosperity required “ending the occupation and Hezbollah handing over its weapons”.
“We want peace with all our neighbors,” Rajji said.
He also urged Iran to “stop interfering in Lebanese affairs” and said the Lebanese army was the country’s “only hope”. Rajji welcomed US assistance to Lebanon’s military and expressed hope that the support would continue.
Talks have focused on ceasefire and withdrawal
Rajji reiterated the government’s commitment to direct negotiations with Israel under US auspices, calling them “the only way to regain the territories and allow residents to return to their villages”.
On Sunday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem called on Lebanese authorities to “freeze direct negotiations with Israel and move toward indirect negotiations” to halt what he described as concessions and correct the course of the talks.
Direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel began on April 14, 2026, with a US-mediated meeting in Washington. Subsequent rounds addressed a ceasefire, Israel’s withdrawal, borders, prisoners and missing persons.
On June 26, Beirut and Tel Aviv signed a US-sponsored “framework formula” in Washington providing for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the deployment of the Lebanese army in areas vacated by Israeli forces.
Israeli attacks continue in southern Lebanon
Despite the agreement, Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon have continued, while Israel still occupies areas in the south. Some of those areas have been held for decades, while others were seized during more recent wars and military operations.
Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have killed at least 4,386 people and injured 12,413 others, while displacing more than 1 million people.
