Israeli and Lebanese officials began a third round of peace talks in Washington on Thursday.
The negotiations are being held at the U.S. State Department, an Israeli government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israel is represented by its ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, and senior security officials, while Lebanon's delegation includes its ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, and former Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Simon Karam.
According to the Israeli official, the talks are being held to disarm Hezbollah and reach an agreement to establish official ties between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel wants to preserve freedom to carry out air and ground operations against Hezbollah until an agreement is reached, while Lebanon is demanding an Israeli withdrawal from its territory, a halt to Israeli strikes and an end to the destruction of villages near the border.
The talks are expected to continue on Friday, though it was unclear whether the sides were close enough to make progress.
The previous round of talks between Lebanon and Israel was held at the White House on April 23.
3rd round of Israel-Lebanon talks opens in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to China will help expand cooperation between the world's two largest economies amid growing global uncertainty, according to a business insider.
Elliott Johnson, founder of Byron East, a platform to provide business consulting services in China, said the encounter is "hugely significant" not only for the two countries' economies, but for the global economy as well.
With the two leaders meeting in person, an event that does not occur every year, the visit is being viewed as a pivotal opportunity to set the tone for future cooperation between the two countries, he said.
"I would rate the meeting today between the two presidents as hugely significant to not only the economies of the United States and China, but the global economy. The global economy is very much intertwined with supply chains and logistics networks spreading well beyond just the US and China. In terms of the outcomes, the outcomes that I think I would like to see today, it is already a significant occasion with the two presidents meeting in person, which doesn't happen every year. And so from outcomes, I think mutual understanding across areas where the two countries can work together, increasing the number of areas of collaboration," said Johnson.
At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump is on a state visit to China from Wednesday to Friday.
A business delegation, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, accompanied Trump on this visit.
Trump's China visit to boost cooperation: business insider
