Lebanese President Refuses To Talk To Israeli PM Netanyahu Over Ongoing Strikes: Report

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun refused to talk to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday despite announcements that a conversation between country leaders would take place.

Citing a Lebanese official, the Associated Press said Aoun told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that direct talks would not be appropriate given Israel’s ongoing attacks in the country. The official claimed that Rubio was understanding of the position.

Aoun’s office later said that President Donald Trump held a conversation with him where he stressed “his commitment to fulfilling the Lebanese request for a ceasefire as soon as possible.”

Direct talks would have been the first between country leaders in more than 30 years. Israel’s security cabinet was already considering a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon as a result of heavy pressure from the Trump administration even before Aoun’s refusal to hold talks, according to a recent report.

Israeli Channel 12 detailed that the U.S. believes that such a move could support negotiations between Israel and Lebanon and Washington and Tehran.

“Our assessment is that within a few days, we will have no choice but to fully cease fire in Lebanon,” a source told the outlet. The ceasefire could last one week and fighting could resume if both parties don’t reach a more secure deal in that timeframe.

The possibility of a ceasefire follows a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese officials in the U.S. on Tuesday, where both parties agreed on the need to “liberate” the latter country from Hezbollah.

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, told press that negotiators “discovered today that we’re on the same side of the equation, and that’s the most positive thing we could have come away with.”