The President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, held a telephone conversation this Thursday solely with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, contrary to reports of a potential three-way call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Lebanese Presidency stated that Aoun received a call from Rubio, who thanked him for Washington's efforts to achieve a ceasefire and its support at all levels. During the conversation, Rubio reaffirmed to the Lebanese head of state his commitment to continuing to work towards a cessation of hostilities with Israel, which would be a 'preliminary step' towards peace and stability in the Mediterranean country. Earlier this week, Rubio was present at a meeting in Washington between the Israeli ambassador to the US and his Lebanese counterpart, the first in a process aimed at ending the current war in Lebanon. Beirut seeks a ceasefire before proceeding to more detailed talks. In this context, US President Donald Trump had announced for Thursday a conversation between the 'leaders' of Israel and Lebanon. 'We are trying to give Israel and Lebanon a little breathing room. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. Tomorrow it will happen,' Trump wrote.
