Barrack says Trump wants prosperity in Lebanon, US can't guarantee Israel's actions
Visiting U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met Monday with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and is scheduled to meet later in the day with political and religious leaders, and on Tuesday with Speaker Nabih Berri.
Speaking to reporters after his talks with Aoun and Salam, Barrack said he returned to Lebanon because U.S. President Donald Trump is interested in reaching 'regional stability' and that Lebanon is the 'center of that process.'
Noting that the U.S. wants 'security' and 'economic prosperity' in Lebanon, Barrack pointed out that the U.S. cannot 'compel' Israel to do or not do 'anything.'
'We're here to use our influence to bring calm minds together to come to a conclusion. The U.S. has no business in trying to compel Israel to do anything,' the U.S. envoy added.
Barrack also said that the Lebanon-Israel cessation of hostilities agreement "didn't work," while noting that Hezbollah's disarmament is a "very internal" issue in Lebanon. He added that if it didn't happen it would be "disappointing."
Moreover, Barrack said the U.S. is not trying to threaten the Lebanese and that it is not thinking of slapping sanctions on Lebanese officials.
The U.S. does not want to "add more logs to the fire," he said.
'There's no consequence, there's no threat, there's no whip, we're here on a voluntary basis trying to usher in a solution," he added.
"Your leaders have been more than helpful," he said on his second visit to Beirut this month, adding that "the reforms that are happening... are amazingly plausible and significant."
The Presidency meanwhile said that Aoun handed Barrack, in the name of the Lebanese state, a "draft comprehensive memo for the implementation of everything that Lebanon has pledged -- from the November 27, 2024 declaration to the Lebanese government's ministerial statement to especially the president's inaugural speech.'
The draft emphasized the need to extend state authority to the entire country, restrict the bearing of weapons to the army and ensure "decisions of war and peace" rest with Lebanese constitutional authorities, according to the Presidency statement.
Barrack's visit to Lebanon comes amid ongoing domestic and international pressure for Hezbollah to give up its remaining arsenal after a bruising war with Israel that ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement in November.
Israel has continued to launch near-daily airstrikes in Lebanon that it says are aimed at stopping Hezbollah from rebuilding its capabilities.
On Friday, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said his group was not ready to lay down its arms before an "existential threat" to Lebanon comes to an end, adding that "we will not surrender to Israel."
The U.S. "disarmament plan now, at this stage ... is for Israel," Qassem said.
"We are ready for any action that leads to a Lebanese understanding... but for Israel and America, we will not do this under any type of threat," he said.
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