Beirut [Lebanon], March 20 : Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has urged US President Donald Trump to intervene to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanon, calling for an immediate ceasefire and direct negotiations with Israel, according to CNN.
In an exclusive interview with CNN from Beirut on Thursday (local time), Salam said he wanted a ceasefire " yesterday, not tomorrow", as the death toll from Israel's military campaign against the militant group Hezbollah has reached 1000. Lebanese officials said more than 100 of those killed are children.
Salam appealed directly to Trump for US involvement in ending the conflict, CNN reported.
"To help put an end to the Lebanese conflict. I would like to reaffirm to President Trump our readiness to enter into immediate negotiations," Salam said, according to CNN. He added that the United States is a "strategic partner" and said Trump "more than anyone else" could "play a decisive role" in ending the war.
"So we call on a greater engagement of the US. I mean direct contact. We are ready for negotiations with Israel," he added.
The conflict, now in its third week, began after Hezbollah launched projectiles into Israel following the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, according to CNN.
However, prospects for negotiations have dimmed over the past two days as Israel expanded its military campaign and focused on a wider group invasion in Lebanon.
Salam told CNN that France had suggested possible ideas for a settlement and that there had been contacts with US officials, but he stopped short of confirming that formal talks had begun.
Lebanon does not recognise Israel as a state, a major issue that could complicate any future peace agreement. Asked whether Lebanon might consider recognising Israel as part of a deal, Salam avoided giving a direct answer and instead blamed the lack of progress on Israel, CNN reported.
"We have been for two weeks extending our hands to have direct talks with the Israelis. So far, we haven't received an agenda from the Israelis," he said. Once Lebanon has a "clear agenda" from the Israelis, "then I will definitely answer your question," he added.
Salam also said Lebanon lacks the military capability to disarm Hezbollah on its own and urgently needs military assistance to strengthen the Lebanese army. At the same time, he rejected the possibility of foreign troops being deployed in the country, insisting that Lebanon's territorial integrity must be preserved, according to CNN.
He also warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis, saying that about one million Lebanese people have been displaced due to Israel's military campaign and evacuation orders affecting much of southern Lebanon and southern Beirut, according to CNN.
"That's almost 20 per cent, if not 25 per cent, of the Lebanese population," Salam said, according to CNN. "These people are also the victims of the war. This war has been imposed on us. We didn't seek it, we didn't choose it, and now our main objective is how to end it. Lebanon is turned into a battlefield of the war between Israel and Iran."
Meanwhile, Israel has pushed further into Lebanese territory over the past week, raising concerns that it aims to establish a deeper buffer zone along the border, CNN reported.
Salam rejected the possibility of any such arrangement, according to CNN.
"We cannot accept any buffer zone, security zone, any infringement on our sovereignty," according to CNN, he said. "We cannot negotiate any form of treaty, deal or arrangement with Israel before our sovereignty is fully restored."
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