US sees window for new push to break political deadlock in Lebanon to ease conflict

WASHINGTON – With Israel’s sabotage and military operations in Lebanon destroying many of Hezbollah’s top leaders, some in Washington and elsewhere believe there may be a window for a new push to break the political stalemate in Lebanon to try to ease the escalation of the war.

To that end, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with his Saudi, Qatari and French counterparts about how a resolution — particularly the election of a new Lebanese president — could reduce tensions in the Middle East by making Hezbollah distance his forces from the forces of Israel. northern border to the line established in a UN Security Council resolution ending the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

“It is clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest, a great interest, for the state to assert itself and take responsibility for the country and its future,” Blinken told reporters Friday in Laos. “The presidency has been vacant for two years, and for the Lebanese people, having a head of state would be very important.”

He said Lebanon’s future is for its people to decide and no one else, including “no external actor, be it the United States, Israel or any of the many actors in the region.”

The United States and others have been pushing for an end to the political stalemate in Lebanon for years to no avail. The country’s sectarian power-sharing system has always been prone to stagnation. The United States blames the two-year presidential vacuum on the commitment of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which is considered a legitimate political party in Lebanon and has been part of its government for nearly two decades despite which has been designated as a terrorist organization by Lebanon. USA, Israel and others.

After former president Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022, Lebanon’s deeply divided parliament met several times to choose a successor and failed each time. Hezbollah has backed Sleiman Frangieh, a Christian politician allied with the Shiite group, for the post.

The opposing faction has put forward a number of names, but the man seen as Frangieh’s main challenger — although he has not officially declared his candidacy — is Lebanese army chief General Joseph Aoun, who is generally sees as close to the US.

Meanwhile, worsening political paralysis and stalled measures to alleviate a crippling economic crisis have plunged three-quarters of the population into poverty.

But now, U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the current thinking of the Biden administration, said there may be a window for movement in the wake of the militant group’s recent demotion at the hands of of Israel

That view is not universally shared in Washington, with some officials arguing that Hezbollah is too entrenched in Lebanon’s political scene, its military, and its civil and social services to eradicate its influence. Still, even skeptics are willing to give it a try, officials said.

Blinken said Friday in Laos that he has had numerous conversations about the situation. And he is expected to attend an international conference on Lebanon hosted by France later this month, US officials said.

“What I am getting from these talks is a strong desire, not only from the many countries that are concerned about Lebanon, but especially from the Lebanese themselves, to see the state rise up, assert itself, take responsibility of the lives of its citizens”, he said.

Blinken spoke earlier this week with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot.

With his Saudi and Qatari counterparts, Blinken “discussed the importance of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in Lebanon to allow civilians on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border to return home his,” the State Department said in nearly identical statements.

The UN resolution, the terms of which have never been fully enforced, called for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon after a month-long war with Hezbollah in 2006, while the The Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces would be the exclusive armed presence in the area.

With his French counterpart, Blinken discussed “the evolution of the situation in the Middle East and the importance of coordinating efforts on a diplomatic resolution that allows the citizens of Israel and Lebanon to return to their homes,” he said the department

And with his Egyptian counterpart, Blinken “noted the continued support of the United States to Lebanese state institutions, including the Lebanese armed forces” and reiterated the need to fully implement the Security Council resolution.

Ed Gabriel, chairman of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a nonprofit organization that aims to build stronger ties between the United States and Lebanon, said the group has high regard for Aoun, Cmdr. of the Lebanese army, and “his leadership of the only fully functioning institution in Lebanon. .”

“We don’t think it’s in Lebanon’s interest for outside parties to comment on the country’s sovereign right to elect its own president,” Gabriel said. “Right now there is an opportunity for Lebanon’s parliamentarians to convene and elect a clean, competent and reform-oriented president who can form a government that can guide Lebanon through a dangerous but critical phase.”

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Associated Press writer Abby Sewell contributed from Beirut, Lebanon.