Issa says 'contacts' underway to reschedule Haykal's visit to Washington

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said Monday that "contacts" are currently underway to arrange a new visit for Army Commander-in-Chief Rodolph Haykal to Washington, signaling a softening of the U.S. stance following the first negotiations, including a civilian in the "mechanism" between Beirut and Tel Aviv.

Before this decision regarding the Lebanese-Israeli talks, the Trump administration had accused the Lebanese Army of stalling on disarming Hezbollah, one of the provisions of the cease-fire agreement that came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024.

To pressure authorities for faster disarmament, appointments scheduled by Haykal in Washington were canceled by the U.S. administration.

However, according to Issa, speaking after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Joe Rajji, "contacts are underway for the army commander’s return to Washington." He said he was confident, according to comments reported by the state-run National News Agency, that "the visit will take place," while stressing that there is "nothing definite yet."

The pressure on Beirut appears to have eased somewhat since the Dec. 3 appointment of lawyer and former ambassador Simon Karam to the committee overseeing the implementation of the cease-fire agreement, while the Israelis have also appointed a representative.

These two civilians took part the same day in a meeting of the "mechanism," with U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus, the United States chairing this cease-fire monitoring committee and military representatives from both countries, as well as from France and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Nevertheless, Israel has continued to strike southern Lebanon, including Thursday, after evacuation calls for four villages, one north of the Litani River, saying it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

'No info' on Barrack's statement on Lebanon and Syria

Regarding the new format for the mechanism’s meetings, Ambassador Issa, who had already welcomed last week’s Lebanese decision, said he "did not expect peace from the first meeting." "The parties must meet and then present their proposals."

The diplomat also responded to a question about a remark made the previous day by U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, who said that Lebanon and Syria should be "brought together" and "aligned." Issa said he had "no information" on the matter.

During a roundtable on Syria at the Doha Forum, Barrack made the statement, which echoed the controversy he stirred in July when he said that "if Lebanon does not move, it will return to Bilad al-Sham," referring to the historical geographical term for Greater Syria, which included modern Syria and neighboring countries.

Despite already observed rapprochement between Beirut and Damascus — marked by numerous high-level official meetings, including between Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday in Doha — several issues remain unresolved between the two countries, such as border demarcation or the fate of Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons.