AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Israel and Lebanon have opened talks for the first time since 1993. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the ambassadors of the two countries, as Israel continues to fight Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. NPR's Michele Kelemen joins us now from the State Department to fill us in on the diplomacy. Hi, Michele.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK. So set the stage for us. Who exactly participated in the meeting, and what was on the agenda here?
KELEMEN: Yeah. I mean, these were not high-level delegations from those two countries. Though, Secretary Rubio did lead the meeting, along with one of his top aides, Michael Needham, and the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa. And the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, was also there. So the three Michaels, let's say (laughter). Lebanon's ambassador to the U.S., Nada Hamadeh, and Israel's ambassador - another Michael - Michael Leiter, each represented their countries. And Leiter came outside the State Department afterwards sounding pretty upbeat. Take a listen.
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MICHAEL LEITER: This is an opportunity. This is the first time our two countries are sitting together in over three decades. Let's feel the moment. Let's enjoy the moment. And we enjoyed it together. We had a wonderful exchange of over two hours.
KELEMEN: And during those two hours, he says they talked about a vision for the future, one that seems rather far off for now.
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LEITER: Where the only reason we'll need to cross each other's territory will be in business suits to conduct business or in bathing suits to go on vacation.
CHANG: (Laughter).
KELEMEN: Yeah.
CHANG: OK.
KELEMEN: I mean, a pretty bold statement given where things are...
CHANG: Yeah.
KELEMEN: ...Right now, with Israel occupying parts of southern Lebanon and continuing to bomb Hezbollah, which continues to launch strikes into Israel.
CHANG: Yeah. Speaking of Hezbollah, Hezbollah is not part of these talks. So can Israel and Lebanon make any progress without Hezbollah there?
KELEMEN: Well, Rubio and his team have been really careful to play down expectations, at least for this first meeting. The secretary said they're working on a framework for peace. And he made clear that the goal is not to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. It is to talk about ways to bring about a permanent end to 20 to 30 years of Hezbollah's influence. Those were his words at the start of these meetings.
The State Department diplomats are also trying to make clear that they've been working on this for weeks, that this is not a direct result of those talks with Iran. They say that while Iran wants to be seen as the protector of Lebanon, it was Hezbollah - Iran's proxy - that dragged Lebanon back into conflict with Israel.
CHANG: But let me ask you, Michele. Israel now occupies part of southern Lebanon. It has continued to carry out strikes, which some Lebanese analysts say is undermining the Lebanese government. What has the Trump administration said about Israeli strikes?
KELEMEN: Well, Trump himself has said that he's urged Israel to scale back those attacks, but I haven't really heard any indication from the Israelis that they plan to ease up. Ambassador Leiter says that as long as Hezbollah is firing rockets at Israeli civilians, the Israelis are going to continue this fight. And he says that the Lebanese government understands that. He also said that the fact that this meeting took place at all was a victory because Hezbollah didn't want the Lebanese government to take part.
The State Department issued a statement that says Lebanon's ambassadors stress something else, the need for a cessation of hostilities and full state sovereignty. But the State Department did say that there will be more talks, which by diplomatic standards, is kind of a success. Leiter says that the talks are going to be in Washington in a few weeks.
CHANG: All right. To be continued. That is NPR's Michele Kelemen at the State Department. Thank you so much, Michele.
KELEMEN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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