The call for a 3-week ceasefire came from the US President Joe Biden And his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and other allies, during the United Nations General Assembly last week.
Bouhabib said in an interview with journalist Christiane Amanpour that was broadcast Wednesday on the American CNN news network: “He agreed (toNasrallah). “He agreed.”
He added: “We completely agreed. Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire, but in consultation with Hezbollah. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri consulted with Hezbollah and we informed the Americans and the French of what happened. They told us that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu also agreed to the statement issued by the two presidents.” Biden and Macron.
The Lebanese Foreign Minister added that White House Senior Advisor Amos Hockstein was scheduled to go to Lebanon To negotiate a ceasefire.
He added: “They told us that Netanyahu He agreed to this, so we also got Hezbollah to agree to this, and you know what has happened since then.”
About a week ago, a joint statement issued by the United States, France, and other Western and Arab powers called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah for a period of 21 days, with the aim of “giving diplomacy a chance to succeed and avoid further cross-border escalation.”
But one day after announcing the proposal, Nasrallah was killed in a violent Israeli air strike, Friday, on a Hezbollah headquarters in the southern suburb of Beirut.
According to American press reports, Biden was frustrated by Netanyahu’s ignoring the proposal to stop the fighting for 3 weeks.
In response to a question about reports about the diminishing influence of the United States in the region, Bouhabib said that Washington “has always been important.”
The Lebanese minister added: “I do not think we have an alternative. We need the help of the United States. Whether we get it or not, we are not sure yet. The United States is very important and vital to the ceasefire.”
