Trump meets Aoun, says willing to 'speak to Hezbollah'
President Joseph Aoun met Tuesday at the White House with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, who said that the Lebanese leader is “highly respected.”
"It's a great pleasure to be with the President of Lebanon. He's highly respected... and the relationship is very good. I think that Lebanon has been a very mistreated country for a long period of time," Trump told reporters at a joint press conference.
"I think he could become one of the most important leaders in the Middle East actually," Trump said of Aoun.
"I think Lebanon has been a very mistreated group for a very long time. It has been a country of great intellect. We’re going to help it. We’re going to help it a lot. We’re going to solve a lot of problems," Trump added.
As for Hezbollah, the U.S. leader said: "We're gonna solve a lot of problems. We've already solved some of them for Lebanon. As you know, there's a Hezbollah problem. But we've done some things that I think the world will take notice of."
Responding to a reporter's question, Trump said he has not spoken to Hezbollah -- as he had recently hinted -- but noted that he would be willing to speak to the group if Aoun asks him to do so.
"If the president wanted me to speak to Hezbollah I will," Trump said.
"I would speak to Hezbollah and I speak to everybody. I'll speak to people that a lot of people think I shouldn't be speaking to, and things work out," Trump pointed out.
Asked whether he still supports Syria entering Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, Trump said: "Well, it's a concept. We get along very well with the president of Syria... I wouldn't be surprised if this gentleman (Aoun) is going to do a job just like that... I think it'd be very effective, so it's something I'd think about."
As for Israel's firing earlier on Tuesday at Lebanese troops deploying in the first so-called pilot zone, Trump said: "Just heard about this. We'll look into it."
Aoun for his part said he has "been looking forward to this visit for a long time — meeting such a great President like yourself (Trump)."
Aoun added that the ultimate goal of the framework agreement signed with Israel is to end the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel permanently.
Aoun, the first Lebanese president invited to Washington since 2009, asked Trump for political support and continued backing for the Lebanese Army, which has begun deploying in southern areas under a U.S.-backed framework agreement with Israel.
"We need to support the LAF," Aoun said, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces. "Without the LAF, everything will collapse."
The Lebanese president, a former army commander, said the military was "the backbone of security and stability" and the country's most trusted institution.
His visit came as the Lebanese Army moved into an area of the south under a deal with Israel aimed at proving Beirut can extend state authority and disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.
But in a sign of the fragility of the agreement, the Lebanese Army said Israeli troops fired near its soldiers deploying in a so-called "pilot zone" Israel is supposed to withdraw from.
Asked whether Washington would put additional pressure on Israel to withdraw, Trump said: "We'll be looking at that."
Lebanon is under pressure to prove that it can and will disarm Hezbollah, which Israel has set as a precondition for ending its occupation in southern Lebanon.
The "pilot zones" where the Lebanese Army is deploying are primarily located just outside territory Israeli forces invaded after Hezbollah opened rocket fire on Israel and drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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