Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun meets Rubio ahead of Trump talks

Aoun is expected to meet Donald Trump on Tuesday, as Beirut seeks US backing to end Israel-Hezbollah-fighting" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="130324" data-entity-type="event">Israel-Hezbollah fighting.Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has begun a series of high-level meetings in Washington, holding talks with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as Beirut looks for US backing to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.Aoun told Rubio on Sunday that Lebanon and the US needed to work together to put the US-backed agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel on June 26 into effect, starting with an initial Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, according to an X post from the Lebanese presidency.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US, Lebanese delegations meet to discuss Israeli ‘pilot zones’ withdrawallist 2 of 4Lebanon’s Aoun calls on US to keep ‘always standing beside’ his countrylist 3 of 4Lebanon, Israel hold talks in Rome on implementing framework deallist 4 of 4Lebanon’s Aoun to meet Trump in Washington to discuss Israel talksend of listRubio praised the Lebanese government’s “determined efforts to reclaim Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure and move towards peace,” according to a statement from the US State Department after the meeting.Aoun and First Lady Naima Aoun arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Saturday at the start of the official visit, according to the Lebanese presidency.Aoun is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday and hold talks with members of the US Senate and other administration officials.It is the first visit to Washington by a Lebanese head of state since Michel Sleiman met President Barack Obama in 2009.It comes at a pivotal moment for Lebanon, where Israeli troops remain in parts of the south months after the latest war with Hezbollah, complicating efforts by Beirut to reassert state control, while hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced.According to a Lebanese official who spoke to Reuters, Aoun plans to present Trump with a written proposal outlining how Hezbollah’s arsenal could be dismantled while securing Israel’s withdrawal under the US-brokered agreement.