Salam says Lebanon ready for talks with Israel, will seek US help

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has reiterated that Lebanon is ready to engage in talks with Israel, adding that he will seek U.S. help in pushing for negotiations.

The prime minister added, in an interview with Bloomberg, that plans to demilitarize the south are "on track" and that the Lebanese Army is expanding its presence there, particularly in areas near the border with Israel.

President Joseph Aoun had previously offered to discuss land border disputes and Israel’s withdrawal from the areas retained after the war with Hezbollah last year.

“I repeat the same offer of readiness to negotiate with Israel,” Salam said.

The prime minister, a former head of the International Court of Justice, said he believes a diplomatic resolution is achievable, pointing to U.S.-mediated talks in 2022, when borders in energy-rich maritime areas were drawn. Now, he says, calls went unanswered.

“That’s a puzzle for me. They ask for negotiations and when we show readiness they don’t agree to the rendez-vous,” he said. “That’s something I’ll be bringing up with the Americans,” he added.

In a rare move in August, the government instructed the army to draw a plan to disarm Hezbollah and other militias. The first phase focuses on south Lebanon and should be finalized by the end of the month, Salam said. Beirut and the Bekaa Valley are encompassed in later stages.

Hezbollah has described the Lebanese Army’s plan as a “grave sin” and vowed not to surrender its arms as it accused the government of doing Israel’s bidding. The group also rejected Lebanon’s offer to negotiate with Israel. The two countries are technically in a state of war.

Israel, the prime minister said, is the one not abiding by the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli army remains in five hilltops spread across the Lebanon’s southern border, which Salam said offer no strategic value, considering modern drones and satellites are equipped with much better monitoring technology.

“These positions have no military or security value. It’s a tool to pressure the Lebanese,” he said.

Though Lebanon’s government says it doesn’t have evidence of Hezbollah’s attempts to rearm, Salam said the army should remain vigilant and has deepened its control of smuggling routes, particularly the border with Syria.

“Why can’t we move faster? One: we need to recruit more people into the army and we need to better equip the army and we need to be able to raise the salaries of army,” Salam said.

Salam said he was working with France and Saudi Arabia to put together a donor conference to support the country’s reconstruction and recovery, and the government is also making headway on a draft law to plug an estimated $80 billion deficit in the financial sector, which he hopes will help unlock much-needed funds from the International Monetary Fund.

Salam said there was an opportunity for change in the region and Lebanon “won’t miss the boat” this time.