US envoy Thomas Barak met with Lebanese officials in Beirut to discuss a proposed plan to disarm the Shiite group “Hezbollah“, “Reuters“ reported, quoted by News.bg, reports News.bg.
The meeting took place hours after new Israeli air strikes and a cross-border ground operation, which were perceived by the Lebanese side as pressure on “Hezbollah“. The organization's leader Naim Qassem said the day before that the group still needs weapons to defend Lebanon from Israeli aggression.
Over the past year “Hezbollah“ suffered heavy losses during the military conflict with Israel - a large part of its leadership was eliminated, thousands of fighters died, and tens of thousands of sympathizers were forced to flee their destroyed homes.
The United States and the Lebanese government are putting pressure on the group to completely disarm. According to sources last week, “Hezbollah“ is considering a partial reduction in its weapons arsenal, but without completely giving up its weapons.
During his last visit on June 19, Barak presented the Lebanese authorities with a plan according to which “Hezbollah“ should completely disarm within four months. In return, Israel will withdraw its troops from several posts in southern Lebanon and will cease air strikes.
Lebanon has already formed a committee to prepare an official response. Hezbollah will pass its notes on to the speaker of parliament and ally of the group, Nabih Berri, who will include them in a counter-proposal expected before Barak's next visit.
The group has not yet made its position public, but two independent sources said it told Berri it would not accept further disarmament unless Israel completely withdraws from Lebanese territory and provides clear guarantees that it will stop attacking its members.
As part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire last year, Hezbollah has already handed over some weapons depots to the Lebanese army. That agreement also calls for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, but Hezbollah says the Israeli army continues to occupy at least five military posts in southern Lebanon, a violation that it says is blocking the de-escalation process.