US envoy Thomas Barrack stated on Monday that he was satisfied with Lebanon’s response to the request to disarm Hezbollah, yet cautioned that Lebanon risks being left behind as other countries in the region experience change.
Lebanese leaders, who assumed office after over a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, have pledged a state monopoly on arms while demanding Israel adhere to a November ceasefire.
Israel has warned it will continue its strikes until Hezbollah is disarmed, but the movement’s leader, Naim Qassem, declared on Sunday that his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats.
“I’m unbelievably satisfied with the response,” Barrack, Washington’s ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, told a press conference after meeting President Joseph Aoun.
“It’s thoughtful, it’s considered. We’re creating a go-forward plan,” he said.
“Now what it takes is a… thrust to the details, which we’re going to do. We’re both committed to get to the details and get a resolution,” he added, expressing great hope.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported that two people were killed in Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Monday, marking the latest deadly raids despite the ceasefire.
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