Reports: Barrack to visit Israel, tells Lebanon there's a 3-month window
by Naharnet Newsdesk 3 hours ago
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack told the Lebanese officials he met with during his latest visit to Beirut that there is a “three-month window” to reach a solution regarding Hezbollah’s arms, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Barrack warned that “the failure to achieve a major change will lead to maintaining the current situations in terms of the continuation of the Israeli war, the absence of any step toward reconstruction and the reluctance to give any financial support to the Lebanese state,” the daily added, quoting a “highly informed source.”
Moreover, al-Akhbar quoted the source as saying that Barrack’s initial paper included “a mechanism for handing over the weapons in batches” and that the U.S. had indicated that Lebanon had until November to implement the demands.
Political sources meanwhile told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that Barrack would visit Israel soon before returning to Lebanon in two weeks.
President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam meanwhile stressed that Lebanon and Israel should take “simultaneous” steps, the sources added, noting that “Barrack did not give U.S. guarantees regarding Israel’s withdrawal or the expansion of its attacks, but has however promised to help Lebanon.”
