Lebanon’s Aoun: No meeting with Netanyahu until deal reached, Israeli attacks end

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks are needed before there would be any meeting between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is sought by Washington.

Aoun’s office says in a statement that the president “reiterated his view that the timing is not appropriate now for a meeting” with Netanyahu.

The statement quotes Aoun as saying: “We must first reach a security agreement and stop the Israeli attacks on us before we raise the issue of a meeting between us.”

Aoun says in a meeting with lawmakers that the third meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington will take place “in the coming days.”

Lebanon, he says, is “ready to accelerate the pace of negotiations,” adding that “there is no turning back from the path of negotiations because there is no other option before us.”

He says national unity must be prioritized right now.