Lebanese President: Full ceasefire must precede direct talks with Israel
Shafaq News- Beirut
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday he has coordinated every step of his country's negotiating posture with both the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister, pushing back against reports suggesting he had acted unilaterally in pursuing diplomatic contact with Israel.
On April 14, the US Department of State convened a trilateral meeting with the participation of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter —the first major high-level engagement between the governments of Israel and Lebanon since 1993. All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue. A second round followed on April 23 at the White House, after which President Donald Trump announced a three-week extension of the 10-day ceasefire that had taken effect on April 16.
One of the most contested points of that diplomatic process has been the joint statement issued by the US State Department following the April 14 meeting. Critics in Lebanon argued that the text effectively granted Israel a license to continue strikes on Lebanese territory. Aoun rejected that reading, stating the document was identical in wording to the November 2024 cessation of hostilities text that all parties —including Lebanon's then-government— had accepted. He drew a categorical distinction between a statement and a binding agreement, saying the latter could only result from the conclusion of formal negotiations, which had not yet begun.
Read more: Ceasefire without sovereignty: how Lebanon's fragmented power blocks a peace with Israel
Earlier, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who leads the Amal Movement and has long served as a political interlocutor between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah, strongly denounced the Washington talks, stating the delegation went to seek a ceasefire but returned with measures that fuel aggression against the resistance. He firmly rejected direct negotiations with Israel, arguing the real priority must be preserving the ceasefire and preventing internal division.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem called the negotiations a free concession to Israel and the United States, and warned that negotiating under fire amounts to signing a document of surrender.
On the substance of the negotiations, Aoun stressed that Israel must implement a full and unconditional ceasefire before direct talks can proceed. Security along the southern border, he said, cannot be achieved through military force or the destruction of border villages.
The only actor capable of guaranteeing that security, Aoun argued, is the Lebanese state operating at full capacity across all southern territory up to the internationally recognized border, a formulation that tracks the requirements of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of non-state armed groups and the extension of Lebanese state authority to the south.
Lebanon is awaiting a date from Washington to formally open negotiations. The president confirmed that the Lebanese file now sits directly with Trump, describing the US president's engagement as a strategic opening the country cannot afford to miss.
الرئيس جوزاف عون امام وفد الهيئات الاقتصادية: - في كل خطوة اتخذتها في ما يتعلق بالمفاوضات كنت على تنسيق وتشاور مع رئيسي مجلس النواب والحكومة، على عكس ما يحكى في الاعلام. أما بالنسبة للانتقادات بأن لبنان وافق من خلال البيان الأميركي الذي صدر على اثر المحادثات الثلاثية في واشنطن،… pic.twitter.com/i91xKkSOkC
— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) April 29, 2026
