Lebanon’s President says US officials reaffirm support for state sovereignty, ceasefire implementation

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun received a phone call on Tuesday afternoon from U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which the latest developments in Lebanon and the post-Switzerland meetings phase were discussed.

According to a statement from the Lebanese presidency, Vance and Rubio reaffirmed U.S. support for the positions of the Lebanese president and government in their efforts to extend the authority of the legitimate state, strengthen national sovereignty over all Lebanese territory through the army and security forces alone, and enable Lebanon to fulfill its related commitments.

The U.S. officials also stressed that Washington is following up on the implementation of the understandings reached during the Switzerland meetings, including the formation of a mechanism involving the United States, Lebanon, and the Islamic Republic of Iran to consolidate the ceasefire in Lebanon and monitor the implementation of related measures. They added that arrangements regarding the structure and functioning of the mechanism are currently under review.

President Aoun, for his part, thanked the U.S. vice president and secretary of state for Washington’s attention to Lebanon, aimed at ending the war and strengthening the authority of the Lebanese state and its independent decision-making, emphasizing that the state remains solely responsible for safeguarding national sovereignty.