The Lebanese demand that Hezbollah reaffirm its rejection of the framework agreement at the time of its withdrawal

On 15 August, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Nawaf Salam, stated that the “pilot area” in southern Lebanon should be expanded and that a timetable for Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory should be specified. The leader of Hezbollah, Naïm Kassem, reiterated on the same day that Hizbullah had rejected the tripartite framework agreement between Lebanon and the United States reached under United States mediation. According to Lebanese sources, this statement was made on the same day when Salam met with the United States Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, and the head of the United States Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, Joseph Clairfield. The talks focused on the military aspects of the framework agreement and the latest situation in southern Lebanon. According to the information received, Qasim spoke on the same day in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Lebanese-Israeli war in 2006, accusing the United States of condoning Israel's military action in Lebanon and stating that Israel would not have committed “all these acts of aggression” without United States support. He stated that Hizbullah would continue to resist. (In Russian)