WASHINGTON (AP) – As Israeli sabotage and military operations in Lebanon oust many Hezbollah leaders, some in Washington and elsewhere seek to break the political deadlock in Lebanon to deescalate the escalating war. I think there may be new opportunities for promotion.
To this end, Secretary of State Antony Blinken held separate telephone calls on Friday with Lebanese Acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati and National Assembly Speaker Navi Berri to discuss the need to resolve the situation, the State Department announced.
Earlier this week, Blinken spoke with his Saudi, Qatari and French counterparts about how the resolution, particularly the election of Lebanon’s new president, could force Hezbollah to withdraw its troops from Israel’s northern border and ease tensions in the Middle East. We talked about it. This line was established in the 2006 UN Security Council resolution ending the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“It’s clear that the Lebanese people have an interest and a strong interest in their nation asserting itself and taking responsibility for its country and its future,” Blinken told reporters in Laos on Friday. . And the existence of a head of state will be extremely important to the Lebanese people. ”
He said Lebanon’s future will be determined by the Lebanese people and not anyone else, including “external actors, whether it is the United States, Israel or any of the many actors in the region."
The United States and others have been seeking an end to Lebanon’s political deadlock for years to no avail. The country’s sectarian power-sharing system is always prone to gridlock. The United States blames the two-year presidential vacuum on resistance to compromise by Iran-backed Hezbollah. Hezbollah is considered a legitimate political party in Lebanon and has been part of the government for nearly two decades, despite being designated a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel. And others.
After former President Michel Aoun’s term ends in October 2022, Lebanon’s deeply divided parliament has met several times to choose a successor, but each time has failed. Hezbollah has supported Suleiman Frangieh, a Christian politician allied with Shiites.
Opponents have put forward a series of names, but the one widely seen as Mr. Frangier’s main competitor is the Lebanese military commander, who has not officially declared his candidacy but is generally seen as close to the United States. General Joseph Aoun.
Meanwhile, three-quarters of the population has fallen into poverty due to worsening political paralysis and stalled measures to alleviate a devastating economic crisis.
But U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the Biden administration’s current thinking, said there may be room to move after the recent decline of extremist groups at the hands of Israel.
This view is not widely shared in Washington, with some officials saying Hezbollah is too deeply entrenched in Lebanon’s political, military, and civil and social services to eradicate its influence. claims. But even skeptics are willing to give it a try, officials said.
On his way back from Laos, Mr. Blinken met with Mr. Mikati and Mr. Berri and reaffirmed the importance of stabilizing the political crisis.
Mr. Blinken emphasized the United States’ commitment to a diplomatic solution that implements U.N. resolutions, allows civilians on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border to return to their homes, and “reflects the will of the Lebanese people.” He emphasized the need to fill the presidential vacancy through democratic means. “We will support the people of Lebanon for a stable, prosperous, and independent Lebanon,” the State Department said in a nearly identical statement.
The top U.S. diplomat said the same thing in talks last week with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Thani, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdellatti and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrault. said.
“What I take away from these conversations is that not only on the part of the many countries that are concerned about Lebanon, but especially on the part of the Lebanese themselves, who want the nation to stand up and assert itself and take responsibility for the lives of its people. “There is a strong desire for the people to see it for themselves,” Blinken said in Laos.
He is scheduled to attend an international conference on Lebanon hosted by France later this month, U.S. officials said.
This UN resolution, although its provisions have not been fully enforced, was established in 2006 when Israeli forces fully withdrew from southern Lebanon after a month-long war with Hezbollah, while Lebanese forces and UN peacekeeping forces demands an exclusive military presence in the region.
Ed Gabriel, president of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a nonprofit organization that aims to strengthen ties between the United States and Lebanon, said the group is working closely with Aoun, the Lebanese military commander, to “improve the leadership of Lebanon’s only fully functioning institution.” I rate it highly.” ”
“I do not think it is in Lebanon’s interest for an outside party to have an opinion on the country’s sovereign right to elect Lebanon’s president,” Gabriel said. “Lebanese parliamentarians now have the chance to convene and elect a clean, competent and reform-minded president who can form a government that will guide Lebanon at a dangerous but critical stage.”
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Associated Press writer Abby Sewell contributed from Beirut, Lebanon.
