Asharq Al-Awsat: Egypt to mediate in Lebanon?
According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the visit of Hassan Rashad, the Director General of the Egyptian Intelligence Service, to Beirut hours after the arrival of US envoy Morgan Ortagus to the city, reflects the efforts of Cairo and Washington to extricate Lebanon from its crisis, in light of the continued Israeli aggression and attacks and its failure to adhere to the ceasefire agreement.
According to the newspaper, Ortagus arrived in Beirut from Tel Aviv, while Rashad also traveled to Tel Aviv last week.
Asharq Al-Awsat, citing an unnamed ministerial source, wrote that Rashad has no ready-made ideas and his mission is to examine Lebanon’s position to assess whether the doors are open for the Egyptian leadership to mediate, similar to what happened in the Gaza Strip.
According to IRNA, Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Matri said that the Zionist regime requested political negotiations through mediators last March, but Lebanon rejected it.
He clarified: “Washington proposed something like mediation, and we understood that its efforts would lead to putting pressure on Israel and forcing it to adhere to the ceasefire agreement, but this did not happen.”
The Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister added, “The plan that the US envoy proposed and Lebanon accepted was not accepted by Israel. Tel Aviv has continued to violate the ceasefire agreement reached on November 27, 2024.
Metri also said: “The idea of indirect negotiations to implement Israel’s commitments last year and then to enter the issue of borders is on the table. I don’t think anyone thinks that Lebanon is ready or has been asked to sign a peace agreement with Israel. The goal of indirect negotiations is to look to the future, provided that what has been agreed is implemented.”