Salam urges timetable for Lebanon-Israel framework in Rubio meeting

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Washington on Monday, as Lebanon pressed for a timetable and verification process to implement a U.S.-backed framework with Israel. Rubio also held separate talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on regional security, including Yemen and maritime navigation, according to official accounts. Salam called for practical steps leading to a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and state control over weapons, according to statements from his office and his public account of the meeting. He also urged the establishment of a clear timetable and credible verification mechanism, saying the process should not allow delays in one part of the arrangement to halt its implementation altogether. The June framework, signed by Lebanon, Israel and the United States, calls for Lebanese state authority to extend into southern Lebanon, the disarmament of nonstate armed groups and an Israeli withdrawal, with verification mechanisms. The meeting produced no new timetable or reported implementation agreement.