Progress in Israel-Lebanon Talks: 'There Are Principle Agreements'

While fighting with Lebanon and Hezbollah continues on the northern border, significant progress is being reported in Washington in the talks being led by the Trump administration, which the White House describes as peace talks in every sense. Sources involved in the details reported Tuesday evening that positive progress was achieved over the past two weeks, and that it also won principle agreement from the Lebanese delegation. According to the main points of the emerging understandings between the countries, the IDF will remain for now at the key points it currently holds in southern Lebanon, while a mutual and full ceasefire will be declared at the same time. The outline also shows that the United States will train and equip special forces that will take over the practical control on the ground in those areas that the IDF recently cleared of Hezbollah presence. However, it should be noted that these points have not yet been formally put in writing as a signed agreement, but they form the basis of the principle understandings reached between the sides. The next round of talks in Washington is expected to take place in two weeks, on June 22. In mid last month, at the end of the third round of talks, a senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters that the contacts were