US feels good about Lebanon-Israel talks, says next round early September

Washington feels good about where talks between Lebanon and Israel are heading, a U.S. State Department official told Al Arabiya English.

The official’s remarks come despite the fact that the latest session of talks between the two sides was cut short because of Lebanese frustration with continued Israeli bombings and Israeli accusations that the Lebanese side was leaking contents of the meeting.

According to the State Department official, the sides discussed third-party verification of the Lebanese Army’s clearance operations, “and had separate bilateral discussions with the Lebanese delegation on delivering timely support for reconstruction.”

An Israeli official told CNN that there was no date for the next round of talks. However, the State Department official, who was speaking to Al Arabiya English on condition of anonymity, said that the delegations will reconvene in Rome in early September, “and conversations will continue in Beirut, Jerusalem, and Washington in the interim.”

“We feel good about the trajectory… and the working groups have aligned their language, maps, and procedures,” the official added.

“We are not naive about the difficulties,” the State Department official said. “Hezbollah is trying to sabotage the process, and both Israel and Lebanon are democracies under domestic political stress,” the official charged.

Iran-backed Hezbollah has repeatedly criticized the direct talks and called on the Lebanese government to abandon the negotiations altogether.

“But the fact that the teams sat together, communicated directly, and generated options is itself a structural change,” the State Department official said.