From the Liveblog of
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Lebanon’s president and PM discuss plans for historic direct talks with Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleBEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s president and prime minister discuss preparations for the first direct negotiations with Israel in decades.
In a statement, the office of President Joseph Aoun says he and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam conducted “an assessment of the post-ceasefire phase and the ongoing efforts to consolidate it,” and discussed “Lebanese readiness for the anticipated negotiations” with Israel.
Their meeting came a day after a strongly-worded speech to the nation from Aoun stating that the country was entering a new phase to work on “permanent agreements” with Israel and insisting that direct talks were not a “concession” — an apparent rebuttal of Hezbollah criticism.
The 10-day ceasefire seeking to end more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel has been in place since midnight on Thursday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.
استقبل رئيس الجمهورية العماد جوزاف عون قبل ظهر اليوم في قصر بعبدا رئيس مجلس الوزراء الدكتور نواف سلام وأجرى معه جولة أفق تناولت التطورات الأخيرة على الصعيدين الأمني والدبلوماسي . كما اجرى الرئيسان تقييماً لمرحلة ما بعد وقف إطلاق النار والمساعي الجارية لتثبيته ومنها الاتصالات… pic.twitter.com/dyftZsksvj
— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) April 18, 2026
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