The planned round of US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome has been postponed, according to Israeli media reports. Instead, a meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors will be held at the US State Department in Washington to discuss recent developments and continued implementation of the framework agreement.
A meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors at the US State Department in Washington will replace the postponed round of US-mediated talks originally planned for Rome, according to Israeli media reports. The development was confirmed by Yediot Ahronot, which reported that the Washington meeting will focus on recent developments and continued implementation of the framework agreement. This update follows The Zioneer's report on Friday that diplomatic contacts between the parties were shifting to Washington.
The Rome round was first reported as postponed in a Friday morning dispatch by The Zioneer (Fri Sep 11, 09:04 Jerusalem), which noted that talks were initially expected in September. An earlier version of that report had indicated the talks were postponed to October. The current report from Yediot Ahronot is the first to specify the venue and format — a meeting between the ambassadors at the State Department — though no new date has been set.
The diplomatic track dates to the framework agreement signed in Washington on June 26, as The Zioneer reported. A subsequent round of technical talks was held in Rome from August 4-6, confirmed by the State Department on July 29. Those talks faced difficulties, with an unverified report on August 5 suggesting a suspension, followed by a US announcement on August 11 of a new round planned for September. The shift from a scheduled Rome round to an ambassador-level meeting in Washington reflects continued American mediation despite the change in format.
The reasons for postponing the Rome talks have not been disclosed by either the US, Israel, or Lebanon. No date has been set for the ambassador meeting in Washington.
4 developments
- DevelopingDiplomatic source: Israel-Lebanon negotiations in Rome suspended
- StrongPolitical-Security Cabinet Postponed to Tuesday, Limited Security Discussion Set for Tonight
- DevelopingGovernment decision postponed; reason for delay unknown
- StrongArab report: talks with Lebanon frozen, citing Rome explosion and Hezbollah demand
Source and signal
- Open-source intake