Lebanon says progress made on border, prisoner issues, Hezbollah disarmament in Rome talks

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that progress had been made on border issues and the return of prisoners during the latest negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Rome.

Speaking at a cabinet session, Aoun said the Rome talks addressed four main issues: a ceasefire, the demolition and bulldozing of houses, the border, and the return of prisoners and the identification of pilot areas, according to a statement released by the Lebanese presidency.

Aoun said "positive progress" had been made on the border and prisoners' issues, expressing hope that practical steps would emerge soon, the statement said.

He said the US administration would work to address the remaining issues of a ceasefire and pilot areas, adding that US General Joseph Clearfield would arrive in Beirut soon to follow up on these matters.

Lebanon and Israel have also agreed on a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify the disarmament of Hezbollah ‌under a US-brokered agreement, with the United States due to pick countries from the list, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a Lebanese official.

Hezbollah is not a party to the agreement ​and has refused to give up its arsenal.

The official declined to identify any of the countries on the shortlist or say how many there were. Another Lebanese official and two foreign diplomats have previously told Reuters that Israel and the United ​States had vetoed France.

"We have reached a short list of countries. We decided which parties were impossible for each ​and set the potential actors," the Lebanese official said. "The Americans will now decide, and could pick more than one country."

Israeli and Lebanese officials have finished three days of negotiations in Rome aimed at advancing security arrangements along their border and implementing a framework agreement reached in Washington in late June, local media reported. The talks, opposed by Hezbollah, are the seventh round of negotiations between the two governments.

(With input from agencies)