US Ambassador to Lebanon: We are working to finalize the Army Commander’s visit to America

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri received the head of the American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL), Ambassador Edward Gabriel, at the Ain al-Tineh residence, accompanied by a delegation of experts from Washington.

 

The meeting was attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa.

Asked about the appointment of former Ambassador Simon Karam to the “mechanism” committee and the message Speaker Berri intends to send to the United States, Issa said: “I believe Speaker Berri conveyed what the delegation needed to understand. 

As I mentioned, information sometimes reaches the U.S. differently from how it should. As for the ongoing negotiations, we should not judge or overstate their importance from day one. As I said two days ago, we need to open the doors and let everyone express their views.”

He stressed that negotiations have begun, but that “this does not mean Israel will stop its actions; they see the two tracks as separate and unrelated.”

Issa added that he is still working on organizing Army Commander Rodolph Haykal’s visit to the United States, with no set date yet. 

Commenting on the completion of the first phase of the army’s deployment south of the Litani River, he said: “We are waiting, as they say, for the South of the Litani to come fully under the army’s authority. This would be a positive step, and I hope the decision will come from the government, not just from the Army Commander.”

Issa also said that Hezbollah must “do what it is required to do — and it knows exactly what that is.”