Salam calls on Trump to 'end the Lebanese conflict'

BEIRUT — Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Thursday in an interview with CNN, recorded in Beirut, that Lebanon is ready to enter into immediate negotiations with Israel in order to end the war, echoing an initiative already launched by President Joseph Aoun.

Asked by Nick Paton Walsh, CNN’s chief international security correspondent, what message he would like to address directly to U.S. President Donald Trump, Salam replied: “Help put an end to the Lebanese conflict.”

Salam reaffirmed Lebanon's "readiness to enter into immediate negotiations with Israel."

"This conflict can only end with negotiations.” He added: “The U.S. is a strategic partner to Lebanon and President Trump, more than anyone else, can play a decisive role in bringing this war to an end.

Salam said Lebanon now finds itself “turned into a battlefield in the war between Israel and Iran.”

“This war has been imposed on us. We didn't seek it. We didn't choose it. Our main objective is how to end it,” he said, calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Ten days ago, Aoun accused Hezbollah of seeking to provoke “the collapse” of Lebanon on behalf of Iran and called for “direct” negotiations with Israel to end the war.

The prime minister also highlighted the severity of the humanitarian situation, saying Lebanon is facing an “unprecedented” crisis, with about 20 percent of the population forced to flee their homes due to the ongoing Israeli military campaign.

Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel on March 2, following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the Israeli-American offensive against Iran. Since then, Israel has carried out large-scale bombardments across Lebanon, including Beirut, alongside ground invasions in the South.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people, according to authorities, and displaced over a million — more than one-sixth of the population.