Lebanon denies foreign minister met with Israeli counterpart in Brussels

Lebanon’s foreign ministry on Wednesday denied reports that Beirut’s top diplomat met with the Israeli foreign minister in Brussels, as it renewed calls for Israel to leave south Lebanon.

Some reports said that Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji met with Israel’s Gideon Saar or was in his presence at the Neighbouring Countries Conference in Brussels, which aims to gather support for Syria amid the war-torn country’s transitional period.

"The Lebanese foreign minister did not meet with the Israeli foreign minister, but rather attended an expanded session attended by the foreign ministers of the Arab Mediterranean region," the Lebanese foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.

It clarified that ministers from Tunisia, Libya and Algeria did not attend but were instead represented by their ambassadors to Belgium.

The ministry said that Lebanon has always participated in these meetings since the start of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, also known as the Barcelona Process, thirty years ago, as well as UN General Assembly meetings "where Israel is also present."

"Finally, it is worth recalling that Lebanon’s foreign minister chose to assert Lebanon’s presence rather than evade the moment, raising his and Lebanon’s voice loudly in protest against the continued Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory," the statement added.

Rajji renewed calls for countries to press Israel to withdraw its forces from territories they are still occupying in south Lebanon.

Under last year’s ceasefire deal, Israel must pull out its forces from south Lebanon which it invaded during the two-month all-out war with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Instead, Tel Aviv has maintained troops in five strategic border locations, threatening to stay as long as Hezbollah does not fully disarm.

Reports had also said that Syria’s Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani met with Saar at the summit, but Damascus has not commented on this.

Israeli and Syrian officials have been engaging in direct talks aimed at de-escalating the situation between the two countries, as Israel began moving into southwest Syria since the Assad regime was ousted in December.

There have been rumours that a security deal could be the first step toward a peace agreement or even normalisation.

On Wednesday, Israel struck several sites in southern Syria as well as defence headquarters in the heart of Damascus amid fierce clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze militia that have left scores of people dead. One airstrike destroyed the Syrian defence ministry headquarters in the capital.

There are concerns in Lebanon that US pressure on Beirut to engage in talks with Tel Aviv could also be an opening to normalisation, something still largely rejected in Lebanese society.