The Lebanese delegation to the negotiations with Israel landed in Rome on Monday ahead of a new round of talks expected to open between the sides, according to Abu Ali Express.
The Lebanese delegation landed in Rome on Monday, hours after departing Beirut, for the next round of US-brokered talks with Israel, scheduled for August 4-6. The landing was reported by Abu Ali Express, confirming the delegation's arrival for the negotiations.
The Zioneer reported earlier Monday at 09:05 that the delegation, led by former ambassador to Washington Simon Karam, had left Beirut with explicit instructions from the Lebanese government to condition any discussion of other topics on the presentation of a clear roadmap for IDF withdrawal from additional areas in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Liwaa and diplomatic sources. The talks were confirmed by the US State Department on July 29, as The Zioneer reported at 13:39 that day.
The Rome talks follow a framework agreement signed in Washington and are part of a series of negotiations that have included five previous rounds. The Zioneer reported on June 23 that the fifth round in Washington focused on the 'pilot zone' proposal, with persistent disagreements over the sequence of IDF withdrawal and Lebanese Army deployment. The Zioneer also reported on June 23 that Israel's ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, criticized the American approach as a 'train wreck,' warning that the process risked derailing.
The talks are set to open on Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether the Lebanese delegation's conditional stance—demanding a withdrawal roadmap before discussing other issues—will be addressed in the initial sessions, and whether US mediators will present such a roadmap as demanded by Beirut.
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