Lebanese Forces Party leader Samir Geagea received on Monday US Presidential Envoy Tom Barrack, accompanied by US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson.
During the meeting, they discussed the ideas contained in the working paper Barrack presented to Lebanese officials.
Geagea emphasized that “the demand to collect all illegal weapons, whether Palestinian or Lebanese, from the Lebanese state is fundamentally a Lebanese demand and paves the way for the establishment of a real state in Lebanon.”
He emphasized that “without dissolving all illegal and unlawful military and security organizations, a real state cannot be achieved in Lebanon.”
After a round of discussions on this topic and various other topics in Lebanon and the Middle East, Barrack and the accompanying delegation had dinner that was hosted by Geagea and his wife, where they continued their discussions on the topics raised.
Barrack, a Lebanese American billionaire is a close friend of President Trump . He currently serves as the US ambassador to Turkey and Trump’s Special Envoy for Syria
Barrack said on Monday he was “unbelievably satisfied” with Lebanon’s reply to a U.S. proposal on disarming Hezbollah, following meetings in Beirut held hours after Israel launched new air strikes and a cross-border incursion.
Barrack’s proposal, delivered to Lebanese officials during his last visit on June 19, would see Hezbollah fully disarmed within four months in exchange for Israel halting air strikes and withdrawing troops from posts in south Lebanon they still occupy following a war last year.
Hezbollah, a proxy of Iran was severely weakened after its war with Israel that started on October 8, 2023 and ended last November . Iran created Hezbollah in 1982 as a branch of al Al Quds force the foreign arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard ( IRGC). Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah , who was assassinated by Israel last September pledged allegiance to Iran and its Supreme leader on several occasions