From the Liveblog of
Friday, June 19, 2026
Lebanese president tells Rubio that ‘comprehensive’ truce must be reached for talks with Israel to advance
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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun tells US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a call that a comprehensive ceasefire must be secured in order for talks with Israel to progress.
The Lebanese presidency says Aoun thanked Rubio for US support but stressed “the need for Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory to cease through the achievement of a comprehensive ceasefire, which Lebanon considers a fundamental basis for advancing the Lebanese-US-Israeli negotiations scheduled to take place in Washington next week.”
Rubio’s message was also highlighted in the US readout, which says the secretary of state “reaffirmed the United States’ full support for the Government of Lebanon’s efforts to create a fully sovereign Lebanese state that is at peace with all its neighbors.”
The US readout says Rubio also “commended President Aoun’s courage in pursuing a historic opportunity for Lebanese sovereignty and recovery.”
Rubio also “underscored that Lebanon’s bilateral negotiations with Israel represent the only feasible path to reconstruction, economic recovery, and ending recurrent cycles of violence.”
The US readout reveals that the next round of Washington-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks will take place from Tuesday to Thursday this coming week.
“Rubio reiterated the need to disarm Hezballah and to reestablish control over all Lebanese territory. They also discussed the need to coordinate with regional allies to advance these aims,” the US readout adds.
The Times of Israel Community.