US special envoy Tom Barrack said on Wednesday that he supported calls by Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun for direct talks with Israel, describing it as essential to de-escalating hostilities.
“I applaud it. I’m so proud of him,” Mr Barrack told The National, adding that long-standing taboos against engaging with Israel no longer reflect current realities. “This idea of not speaking to Israel came out of a constitutional imprimatur that doesn't relate to anything."
With air strikes hitting Beirut and Israeli forces pushing deeper into Lebanese territory to fight Hezbollah, Lebanon’s government has indicated a major shift by proposing direct talks with Israel for the first time in decades.
Mr Aoun last week said he was open to negotiations with Israel to stop the conflict and reiterated his commitment to disarming Hezbollah, a key demand from Israel and the US.
Israeli strikes have so far killed about 880 people and displaced more than a million, according to Lebanese authorities.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, calls the conflict an existential fight, while Israel has warned of a broader ground offensive, including the possible seizure of territory and expanded strikes on infrastructure.
Mr Barrack, who was attending the launch of an initiative in New York to rid Syria of its legacy chemical weapons, criticised the current standoff between Israel and Hezbollah as unproductive.
“The harshness of ‘you withdraw from the five points and we, Hezbollah, will stop firing rockets and missiles’ is like two teenagers in the schoolyard,” he said.
He added that Lebanon’s leadership, including Mr Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, must push for dialogue.
“We need a new dialogue … there’s got to be a dialogue,” Mr Barrack told reporters. “I'm really proud and supportive of them talking.”
He said a ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024 had not been respected by either side, noting that Hezbollah remained a military force and a political party in Lebanon.
“Regardless of how we view the combatants, they need to talk,” he said, calling for efforts to resolve tension “without bullets, rockets or missiles".
