U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to the State Department, spoke with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, one day after Aoun registered his protest over Israel’s military actions in Lebanon. In a statement from his office, Aoun had condemned Israel’s initial post-agreement strikes, saying that the “killing and destruction constitute a dangerous escalation... It effectively targets all ongoing efforts to consolidate the ceasefire and end the war.”
Rubio emphasized to Aoun the need to disarm Hezbollah while proclaiming U.S. support for a “fully sovereign” Lebanese state. Then the State Department reported that the two also discussed holding a next round of Israel-Lebanon negotiations in Washington from June 23-25.
