Amid the brewing tension in West Asia, Lebanon’s PM Najib Mikati has denied reports that the United States has asked the country to declare a unilateral ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Earlier this week, two unnamed sources, a Lebanese political source and a senior diplomat, made the claim to Reuters.
The officials stated that US envoy to Lebanon Amos Hochstein had communicated the proposal to Mikati, this week. The Biden administration has come-up with several proposals to foster a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon. However, none of these proposals have turned out to be fruitful.
In a statement on Friday, Mikati’s office denied the claims that the US had asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire in the region. The Lebanese premier said that his government’s stance on the war was clear as they seek a ceasefire from both sides and implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701. Interestingly, the resolution in question last ended the conflict between the two nations back in 2006.
The Lebanese prime minister made it clear that the country’s armed forces are not involved in the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at the Jewish nation soon after the October 7 attack.
Hezbollah needs to agree to such proposal
It is important to note that any efforts to reach a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict has to be agreed by Hezbollah since its members are part of the Lebanese cabinet and its allies hold a significant number of seats in the parliament. Meanwhile, the US embassy in Beirut is yet to comment on the report.
There have been a major flurry in American diplomacy, during which the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, appeared more optimistic than parties to the conflict about bringing it to an end. This comes in the backdrop of the upcoming US Presidential Elections.
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