Lebanon’s Aoun to meet Trump in Washington to discuss Israel talks

The Lebanese and US presidents are expected to discuss the ceasefire, Lebanon" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="146851" data-entity-type="location">southern Lebanon, and Israel’s withdrawal.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will visit the White House to meet his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, as US-led efforts to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah enter a new phase.Aoun, who is travelling at Trump’s invitation, left for Washington on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Lebanon and Israel end sixth round of US-brokered talkslist 2 of 4What are the obstacles to peace between Israel and Lebanon?list 3 of 4‘Destroyed my whole life’: Lebanese families wiped out in Israeli attackslist 4 of 4Israeli army destroys three schools in Lebanon" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="146851" data-entity-type="location">southern Lebanon, minister saysend of listHe is expected to meet the US president and other senior officials next week to discuss ways to strengthen the ceasefire, secure Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="146851" data-entity-type="location">southern Lebanon and “restore security and stability” across the country, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency.The talks will also focus on extending the Lebanese state’s authority across all of its territory.It will be the first visit to Washington by a Lebanese head of state since Michel Sleiman met then-President Barack Obama in 2009.The visit comes just days after Lebanese and Israeli officials concluded another round of US-mediated talks in Rome. US officials said the two sides had agreed on the next steps for creating “pilot zones” in Lebanon" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="146851" data-entity-type="location">southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops would begin withdrawing, and the Lebanese army would take over security.The pilot zones are part of a framework agreement reached in June that is meant to gradually end Israel’s military presence in Lebanon" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="146851" data-entity-type="location">southern Lebanon. But the agreement sets no deadline for Israeli forces to leave. Instead, withdrawals are tied to Hezbollah and other armed groups disarming, a condition Hezbollah has rejected.Israeli attacks continueEven as negotiations continue, Israeli forces have remained inside what they call a 10km (six-mile) “security zone” along the border and have continued carrying out air strikes.