The US State Department on Friday said that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 45-day extension of their ceasefire after another round of talks in Washington, The development comes after two "productive" days of talks, and will be followed by more negotiations June 2-3, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. A shaky truce between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon had been due to end on Sunday.
"We hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border," Pigott said on social media.
Third round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon was held in Washington
A third round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon was held in Washington, days before the expiration of a truce that reduced but did not stop the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Lebanese officials hoped that the two-day negotiations would yield a new ceasefire deal and pave the way for tackling a series of thorny issues, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Trump has been pushing for a breakthrough between Israel, Lebanon
The Trump administration has been pushing for a breakthrough between the two neighbours that have been officially in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948. Hezbollah, however, is not part of those talks and has been vocally opposed to Lebanon engaging in direct negotiations with Israel.
Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group have continued to trade near-constant fire across the border despite a US-brokered ceasefire on April 17. Initially a 10-day truce, it was then extended for another three weeks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended the first Israel-Lebanon meetings in Washington in April, was with President Donald Trump on a visit to China and did not attend Thursday's session.
Current round of talks represents a step toward more serious negotiations
The current round of talks represents a step toward more serious negotiations, with higher-level envoys from Lebanon and Israel taking part after the initial preparatory sessions were headed by the ambassadors of the two countries to Washington.
Lebanon's envoy heading up Thursday's talks, Simon Karam, is an attorney and well-connected former Lebanese ambassador to the US who recently represented Lebanon in indirect talks with Israel over implementation of the ceasefire that preceded the latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Trump has publicly called for a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Aoun has declined to meet or speak directly with Netanyahu at this stage - a move that would likely generate blowback in Lebanon.
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