Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Friday with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London, to discuss Israel's strikes on the country as Washington presses the Beirut government to take charge against Hezbollah.
This meeting follows Blinken’s Middle East tour and the Paris conference on Lebanon, where Mikati gave a speech on Thursday.
“I agreed with Mikati on the importance of reaching a diplomatic solution,” Blinken said. “It is necessary to implement Resolution 1701.”
Mikati insisted “on the priority of a ceasefire and deterring Israeli aggression, especially since more than 1.4 million Lebanese have been displaced from the areas under attack”.
“Israel is also violating international law by attacking civilians, journalists and medical personnel,” He added.
He also emphasized “Lebanon's commitment to implement Resolution 1701 as it is, without amendment.”
“What is required first is a real commitment from Israel to a ceasefire, because the previous experience regarding the US-French appeal for a ceasefire, which was supported by the Arabs and internationally, affected the credibility of everyone,” Mikati noted.
For his part, Blinken stated that “Washington continues to seek a diplomatic solution for an immediate ceasefire and the commitment of all parties to international resolutions that ensure stability in the region”.
He expressed “US support for government institutions, especially the army and security forces,” and emphasized “the importance of the role of the army in implementing Resolution 1701.”
He also stressed “the importance of reaching a diplomatic solution to the existing conflict and stopping the violence.”
The meeting was attended by U.S. government spokesman Matthew Miller and James Ruby, head of the Institute for International Studies at the U.S. Department of State. On the Lebanese side, Lebanese Ambassador to London Rami Mortada and Prime Minister Mikati's advisor Ziad Mikati attended the meeting.
The United States has stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire in its month of bombing of Lebanon targeting Hezbollah.
But Blinken has also called for a quick diplomatic solution.
"We have been very clear that this cannot lead – should not lead – to a protracted campaign and that Israel must take the necessary steps to avoid civilian casualties and not endanger UN peacekeepers or the Lebanese Armed Forces," Blinken said Thursday in Doha.
The United States has called for Lebanon's long wobbly central government to take charge of security and for the disarmament of Hezbollah that effectively has its own military.
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