President Donald Trump will welcome Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House on Tuesday for talks focused on weakening Hezbollah, securing Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and advancing a U.S.-brokered peace framework.
Trump is scheduled to greet Aoun at 11 a.m. before the two leaders hold a closed-door bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at 11:15 a.m. The meeting will be their first face-to-face encounter, although they have spoken twice by phone in recent months, according to Axios.
Aoun will also become the first Lebanese president to visit the White House since Michel Sleiman met with President Barack Obama in 2009.
The meeting comes less than a month after the United States, Israel and Lebanon signed a trilateral framework outlining a path toward Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the disarmament of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah and eventual peace talks between the two countries.
The first test of that agreement began Tuesday, when Israeli forces withdrew from part of Zawtar al-Gharbieh and Lebanese troops started moving into the area. The village is one of three designated “pilot zones” intended to test whether the Lebanese Armed Forces can secure territory vacated by Israel and prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its military presence.
The State Department announced Monday that pilot-zone operations had begun in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Froun and Srifa, calling the development a direct result of U.S.-mediated talks held last week in Rome.
“The establishment of these initial pilot zones represents real progress on the ground,” a U.S. official told Axios.
The official said the administration hopes the initial deployments will “build confidence” between Israel and Lebanon and “create the momentum needed to expand the process.”
“We expect all parties to respect this process,” the official added. “Any attempt by Hezbollah to derail, infiltrate, or re-arm in these zones would seriously harm the prospects for reconstruction and peace, and the interests of the Lebanese people.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Aoun on Sunday and “commended the courage of the Government of Lebanon, under President Aoun’s leadership, for their determined effort to reclaim Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure, and move towards peace,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
“The Secretary reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to supporting the successful implementation of the Trilateral Framework and to backing the Government of Lebanon’s efforts to deliver peace, economic recovery, and a better future for the Lebanese people,” Pigott added.
Rubio has argued that permanently weakening Hezbollah will require more than military action. It will also depend on strengthening Lebanon’s government, armed forces and economy so the Lebanese state can provide what Hezbollah and its Iranian backers cannot.
“This is not just about military stuff. This is about how can we attract more U.S. and international investment into Lebanon,” Rubio told reporters Sunday. “And I think President Aoun will be able to return to Lebanon and say to the people of Lebanon that he is the one that’s getting positive results for the people … not Hezbollah, not Iran.”
Aoun is expected to seek continued American military support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and Trump’s help pressing Israel to complete its withdrawal. The Trump administration, meanwhile, wants Aoun’s government to demonstrate that it can dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure and prevent the terrorist organization from retaking control of the south.
