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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a news conference during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Tang Chhin Sothy/Pool Photo via AP)

US sees a window for a new push to break political deadlock in Lebanon to ease conflict

Some in Washington and elsewhere believe there may be a window for a new push to break the political deadlock in Lebanon to try to ease escalating war

By MATTHEW LEE
Published - Oct 11, 2024, 03:51 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 06:25 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — With Israel’s sabotage and military operations in Lebanon taking out many of Hezbollah’s senior leaders, some in Washington and elsewhere believe there may be a window for a new push to break the political deadlock in Lebanon to try to ease escalating war.

To that end, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone separately Friday with acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament speaker Nabhi Berri about the need to resolve the situation, the State Department said.

Earlier in the week, Blinken talked with his Saudi, Qatari and French counterparts about how a resolution — particularly the election of a new Lebanese president — might reduce tensions in the Middle East by getting Hezbollah to move its forces away from Israel’s northern border to the line set out in a U.N. Security Council resolution ending the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

“It’s clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest, a strong interest, in the state asserting itself and taking responsibility for the country and its future," Blinken told reporters Friday in Laos. "The presidency has been vacant for two years now, and for the Lebanese people, having a head of state would be very important.”

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