Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri described the discussions with the US President's Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, as “positive.”
Following his meeting on Monday with President of the Republic Joseph Aoun, the head of the parliament assured that normalization with Israel had not been raised in any way during the meetings with the American envoy. “I didn’t hear her call for normalization with Israel,” he stressed, before adding, “Even the Israelis didn’t bring up the subject.”
“What we looked into with Morgan Ortagus differs from the analyses that have been widely circulated, according to which she came in a spirit of intimidation and threats,” he stated.
In a meeting at Baabda presidential palace, President Joseph Aoun discussed with Berri the general situation, including developments in South Lebanon and the results of Ortagus' recent visit.
On her second visit to Lebanon since she assumed her post, Ortagus held talks with Aoun, Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Army Commander-in-Chief Rodolphe Haykal on Saturday. She also met Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Minister of Foreign Affairs Youssef Rajji. During her meetings, she stressed the need for the total and imminent disarmament of Hezbollah and the strict application of the ceasefire agreement. She also stressed the importance of launching reforms as a prerequisite for Lebanon to benefit from the international support it needs to recover.
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