US stands with Lebanon, backs its ‘security and stability,’ Marco Rubio tells Lebanese president

The US reaffirmed its support for Lebanon during a Friday phone call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, with Washington stressing the need to disarm Hezbollah to ensure national sovereignty.

The two discussed the current situation in Lebanon and the wider region in light of recent developments, the presidency said in a statement.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that Rubio commended Aoun’s “courage in pursuing a historic opportunity” for the nation’s recovery.

During the call, Rubio stressed that the US “stands with Lebanon” and said Washington would work to achieve “security and stability” in the country, ensure “the extension of state authority over all its territory,” and support Lebanon’s legitimate political, security and military institutions, “foremost among them the army.”

Aoun thanked Rubio for US support for Lebanon and stressed the need to halt Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory through a “comprehensive ceasefire.”

He said such a comprehensive ceasefire is “what Lebanon considers a cornerstone” for progress in Lebanese-US-Israeli negotiations scheduled to take place in Washington next week.

The State Department confirmed the next round of these high-level talks will take place next Tuesday through Thursday.

According to the presidency, Aoun said the talks aim to achieve Lebanon’s “constant objectives” of restoring the country’s “security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Rubio reiterated the “need to disarm” Hezbollah “to re-establish control” over all Lebanese territory, asserting that a sovereign state must be “at peace with all its neighbors.”

He underscored that Lebanon’s bilateral negotiations with Israel represent the “only feasible path” toward reconstruction, economic recovery, and ending “recurrent cycles of violence.”

The call came after the announcement of a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect at 4 pm local time (1300GMT) Friday.

The truce follows an escalation that killed at least 47 people in southern Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers since early Friday.

According to official figures, Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon since March 2 has killed 3,912 people, injured 11,873 others, and displaced more than one million residents.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the latest conflict. During its recent military campaign, Israeli forces advanced more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanese territory.