Lebanese President to Meet U.S. President at White House

AFP

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will make his first trip to the White House this week to present a plan to U.S. President Donald Trump on how to disarm Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and secure Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon.

Aoun, who served as the commander of Lebanon's U.S.-backed army before ‌being elected president last year, is the first Lebanese head of state in nearly 20 years to visit the White House, where he will meet Trump face-to-face for the first time.

Tuesday's meeting comes at a crucial moment for Lebanon: Israeli troops are occupying a swathe of the country's south, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese remain displaced following Israeli strikes and Hezbollah has firmly rejected the government's direct talks with Israel -- and efforts by the state to strip it of its arms.

In comments published by his office last week, Aoun said he would ask Trump to "exert the necessary pressure on Israel" to implement a U.S.-brokered 26 June agreement between Lebanon and Israel. That deal aims to disarm Hezbollah, see a progressive Israeli troop withdrawal and set the stage for peaceful ties between the two ⁠countries.

A Lebanese official said Aoun would present Trump with a written proposal on how to decommission Hezbollah's massive arsenal. The official said Aoun believes only Trump possesses the leverage needed to pressure Israel to withdraw its troops and help Lebanon restore its sovereignty.

Aoun, 62, became president last year just before Trump began his second term in the White House. The U.S. welcomed Aoun's election.

Aoun is a Maronite Christian, as required by Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system which stipulates the prime minister must be Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament must be Shi'ite Muslim. A career soldier, Aoun was wounded twice and still carries a shrapnel wound.

Source: Reuters



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