LONDON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet in London today with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati as Washington asks Israel to keep its military campaign against Hezbollah short, a US official stated.
Blinken arrived late Thursday in London following a three-nation trip of the Middle East, where he also pleaded to protect civilian population. The State Department official stated that Blinken will also hold meetings Friday separately with the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan, two main US partners in a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip.
Blinken-Mikati Meeting
PM Mikati was heading for the talks with the US Secretary of State after a conference Thursday in Paris on aiding Lebanon in which he stated that only the Lebanese state should bear weapons.
Israel said that it would cripple Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group that has long maintained its own troops. Hezbollah has thrown missiles at Israel in solidarity with Hamas since October 7, 2023. However, Blinken did not participate the Paris conference.
The US has stopped short of calling on Israel, which relies on US army and political support, to end strikes immediately in Lebanon. Blinken, at a press conference earlier Thursday in Qatar, stated that Israel was working to remove the “threat” of Hezbollah but there should ultimately be a diplomatic solution. He further said that Israel must take the necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties and not endanger the Lebanese Armed Forces or UN peacekeepers.
