US cannot 'compel' Israel to do anything, US special envoy says in Lebanon
BEIRUT - Washington cannot "compel" Israel to do anything, U.S. special envoy Thomas Barrack said in Beirut on Monday, in response to a reporter's question about Lebanese demands that the U.S. guarantees a halt to Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory.
The U.S. last month proposed a roadmap to Lebanon's top officials to fully disarm Hezbollah within four months, in exchange for a halt to Israeli strikes and a withdrawal of Israeli troops still occupying positions in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon has asked Washington to act as a security guarantor to ensure that Israel will pull out its troops in full and halt targeting operations against members of Hezbollah, if the armed group begins handing in weapons.
Asked about those guarantees, Barrack told reporters after a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that the U.S. "has no business in trying to compel Israel to do anything."
He also told reporters that the U.S. was not forcing Lebanon to strip Hezbollah of its arms, or considering sanctions against Lebanese officials if Hezbollah is not disarmed.
"There's no consequence, there's no threat, there's no whip," Barrack said.
Barrack, a longtime adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, also serves as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria.
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He is making his third trip to Lebanon in just over a month to discuss the U.S. roadmap, which covers disarmament of non-state armed groups, long-awaited economic reforms and better ties with Lebanon's neighbour Syria.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a months-long war last year that ended with a U.S.-brokered truce calling for both sides to halt fighting, for Israel to withdraw troops, and for Lebanon to be free of all non-state arms, starting with the southern region closest to the Israeli border.
While Hezbollah has handed in some weapons from depots in the country's south to the Lebanese army, Israel says the group is violating the ceasefire by attempting to re-establish itself.
Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel has breached the truce by continuing to occupy at least five vantage points in a strip of the Lebanese border, and carrying out strikes on what Israel says are Hezbollah members and arms depots. REUTERS
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