What happened
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has left Beirut for Washington for an expected meeting with Donald Trump. The visit matters because it is the first by a Lebanese head of state to Washington since 2009.
The timing also matters for West Asian diplomacy. The visit follows discussions between Lebanon and Israel held in Italy.
Background and earlier position
Lebanon and Israel do not have normalised bilateral ties, so contact between the two sides is politically sensitive. In such a setting, third-country talks and leader-level meetings are often used to manage tensions and test diplomatic openings.
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