WASHINGTON, December 4. /TASS/. Israeli and Lebanese delegations during their first direct talks on Wednesday agreed to arrange another meeting before the year’s end, the Axios portal reported, citing sources.
The next negotiations will likely touch on prospects for economic cooperation in border areas and potential joint projects that could help lay foundations for mutual trust. According to the portal’s sources, the United States, which has been trying to foster this sort of dialogue, wants to establish a "Trump economic zone" along the Israeli and Lebanese border, which would be free of the Shiite movement Hezbollah.
Earlier the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the meeting went well and that the parties agreed to "table with economic proposals that will help in confidence-building" between the two countries. The LBCI channel reported, citing sources, that the Lebanese side is also satisfied with the meeting’s outcome. The portal Axios noted that the meeting was the first such direct, public engagement between Israel and Lebanon since 1993.
Israel and Lebanon have never had diplomatic relations. Beirut has not recognized the Jewish state since its establishment in 1948. Despite the lack of diplomatic relations, the parties maintain informal contacts through Washington mediation.
.