Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met on Monday with US envoy Tom Barrack at the presidential palace as Lebanese authorities are due to deliver a response to Barrack’s request for Iran-backed Hezbollah’s disarmament, APA reports citing Al Arabiya.
Barrack had shared a written roadmap with Lebanese officials and told them he expected to hear back on any proposed amendments.
The document centers on the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militant groups and urges Lebanon to improve ties with neighboring Syria and implement financial reforms.
It proposes a phased approach to disarmament, in which Hezbollah would hand in its arms throughout Lebanon in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops occupying areas in south Lebanon, sources had told Reuters.
The full disarmament should be completed by November or by the end of the year at the latest, Barrack is reported to have said.
A day before the US envoy was due to meet Aoun, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said that his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats.
“This threat will not make us accept surrender,” Qassem said in a televised speech on Sunday.
Israel on Sunday conducted an intense range of strikes across different locations in Lebanon in what appeared to be a response to Qassem’s speech.
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