The United States believes that “comprehensive peace is dependent on the full restoration of Lebanese state authority and the complete disarmament of Hezbollah,” a State Department statement said.
“The aim of these talks is to break decisively with the failed approach of the past two decades, which allowed terrorist groups to strengthen and enrich themselves, undermine the authority of the Lebanese state, and threaten Israel’s northern border,” it said.
Thursday’s meeting will be the third round of talks between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations.
Unlike the previous two visits, neither Secretary of State Marco Rubio nor Trump will attend as both are on state visits to China.
The US mediators include the ambassadors to Israel and Lebanon – respectively Mike Huckabee, an evangelical pastor and staunch supporter of Israel’s territorial ambitions, and Michel Issa, a Lebanese-born businessman and Trump’s golf partner.
Lebanon was represented by Special Envoy Simon Karam, a lawyer and diplomat who has defended Lebanon’s sovereignty, as well as its ambassador to Washington.
Israel’s team will include its ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, an ally of Netanyahu who is close to the Israeli settler movement in the occupied West Bank.