JAKARTA - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday his country's negotiations with Israel in Washington were separate from the United States-Iran deal to end the Middle East conflict.
Lebanon and Israel have held direct talks in Washington since April, seeking to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and to separate their conflict from the wider regional war.
But Monday's announcement of the US-Iranian deal, which Iran and Pakistani mediators say includes Lebanon, has changed the situation.
"The assurances we have received, and which we emphasize, are that Lebanon's path in negotiations is separate, although we of course support the ceasefire and any country that helps us, including Iran," President Aoun said, according to a statement from his office, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (18/6).
But "interference in Lebanese affairs is not allowed," he added.
President Aoun said he hoped that the fifth round of talks next week "will be more positive, especially given the great interest of the US administration in Lebanon."
"The sovereign state of Lebanon makes its decisions, and for the first time, this is the state that is leading the negotiations, and no one is negotiating for us," he explained.
"I assure the Lebanese people that nothing binds us to any other country, and any settlement will go through us, not at our expense," added President Aoun.
Earlier, the militant group Hezbollah on Monday thanked its backers, Tehran, for insisting that Lebanon be included in the agreement with Washington, even though Beirut had sought through talks to reach a ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Hezbollah has rejected direct negotiations between the Lebanese government and Israel and the decision to disarm.
It is known that Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 with rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatolah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli attack a few days earlier.
Israel responded with a massive air campaign and ground invasion that the Lebanese government says has killed more than 3,800 people.
Although violence has decreased in Lebanon after the US-Iranian deal was announced, Israeli attacks in the south have killed at least five people since then, according to state media, which also reported Israeli attacks in several areas of southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
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