Published on: 2026-04-15
Source: The People’s Republic of China in Russian –
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Washington, April 15 /Xinhua/ — On Tuesday, in the second day of talks in the USA, Israel and Lebanon expressed different expectations regarding a peaceful agreement. Israel insisted on the disarmament of Hezbollah, while Lebanon called for a ceasefire and the adoption of specific measures to ease the acute humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing conflict. This was stated in a US State Department statement.
It is reported that the parties have agreed to start direct negotiations at a time and place agreed upon by them.
This meeting became the first major contact at a high level between the governments of Israel and Lebanon since 1993, according to the statement.
In a statement, the U.S. administration once again confirmed “Israel’s right to self-defense” against the ongoing attacks by Hezbollah, making it clear that Israeli strikes on Lebanon and its ground invasion in the south of the country will continue.
The administration of Donald Trump supports the continuation of negotiations, but any ceasefire agreement must be reached between the governments of the two countries with the mediation of the United States, “and not within the framework of any separate channel,” the statement says. This indicates that Washington does not consider Lebanon as part of the current truce between the USA and Iran or recent American-Iranian peace talks, but a new round, which D. Trump earlier said on Tuesday could take place within the next two days.
The negotiations involved the Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Hamade, the Israeli ambassador to the US Yael Leiter, as well as US Secretary of State Mark Rubio, US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, the US permanent representative to the UN Mike Waltz, and US State Department advisor Michael Niddem.
“All the difficulties associated with this issue will not be resolved within the next six hours,” said M. Rubio in his introductory remarks. “This is a process, not an event.”
On March 2, the “Hezbollah” group fired rockets from southern Lebanon towards Israel for the first time since the ceasefire in 2024. Israel responded with a ground offensive as part of an expanded military operation aimed at several areas throughout the country, resulting in the death of more than 2,000 people.
At least 35 people have died in the past 24 hours as a result of Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the country’s Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday. –0–
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