BEIRUT: The Lebanese army said its chief and a senior US military commander discussed on Monday implementing a US-Lebanon-Israel agreement signed last week that aims to halt hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Rodolphe Haykal received Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander responsible for US troops in the Middle East, with the discussions addressing “the latest developments in Lebanon and the region,” a Lebanese army statement said.
Haykal and Cooper also discussed “the importance of successfully implementing the security annex of the framework agreement,” as well as ways of strengthening future cooperation, the statement added.
On Friday, Lebanon and Israel, under US sponsorship, signed a “trilateral framework” agreement seeking to end hostilities, after the Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel, triggering Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion.
The deal commits Lebanon to restoring sovereignty over its territory through the “verified disarmament of non-state armed groups and dismantlement of associated infrastructure,” enabling a progressive Israeli withdrawal, according to the text released by the State Department.
