Report: US lauds Aoun's remarks, Trump may press Netanyahu

The United States has welcomed President Joseph Aoun’s latest remarks on Lebanon’s readiness to engage in negotiations with Israel to resolve the outstanding issues, senior Lebanese diplomatic sources have said.

The U.S. is “readying to activate its mediation between Lebanon and Israel in the coming period, especially as its new ambassador Michel Issa begins his work in Beirut,” the sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.

Noting that Aoun had demanded the halt of Israeli attacks prior to any negotiations, the sources did not rule out that U.S. President Donald Trump might press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, especially that Beirut has openly declared its readiness for negotiations.