Barrack tells Lebanese MPs and ministers to seek peace with Israel

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has told Lebanese MPs and ministers in his meetings in Beirut that the U.S. cannot give guarantees to Lebanon in return for Hezbollah’s disarmament, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Thursday.

“I’m convinced that Hezbollah’s weapons are present in depots and do not represent any danger, but we cannot convince Israel of this,” the daily quoted Barrack as saying.

Encouraging MPs and ministers to seek a peace treaty with Israel, Barrack told them that Israel wants to live in peace and does not have expansionist ambitions, al-Akhbar said.

Explaining U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision for the Abraham peace accords between Israel and Arab nations, Barrack called on the Lebanese officials to “seize the chance” and “go to peace,” the daily added.

Acknowledging that the sectarian massacres in Syria’s Sweida have impeded the negotiations course in Lebanon and the region, Barrack said Washington’s priority at the moment is Syria and its security situations, admitting that the situations in Syria gave a “legitimate” excuse to Hezbollah to be afraid of Syria’s Islamist rulers, al-Akhbar said.