Berri says truce paper discussed in depth after 'two weeks' of deliberations

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the atmosphere was “more positive” after his second meeting with U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein on Wednesday and that Lebanon “did what it should do” to secure the success of the agreement.

Asked by al-Liwaa newspaper about what prompted Hochstein to stay for a second day in Beirut, Berri said: “We’ve been working for two weeks on what you’re seeing now, and over the past two days we discussed all the 13 articles of the agreement in a delicate manner that addresses every small detail.”

Berri also said that there will not be additions to Resolution 1701 and that “even the resolution’s implementation mechanisms will remain the same.”

“We are before crucial day: either Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepts and the war ends, or as usual he rejects and we go to worse scenarios,” Berri added.

Asked whether Hochstein had been coordinating with Tel Aviv during his presence in Lebanon, the Speaker said: “They do have an ambassador in Israel, but such a sensitive issue cannot be settled over the phone. Hochstein has arrived in Tel Aviv and soon the picture will become clearer based on the Israeli response to the proposal.”