Lebanon cannot sign any agreement that does not include a “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces, PM Nawaf Salam says ahead of talks in Washington, Al Jazeera reports.

“We cannot live with a so-called buffer zone, an Israeli presence where Lebanese displaced people are not allowed to return, where destroyed villages and towns cannot be rebuilt,” he said in an interview with the Washington Post in Paris, where he met France’s President Macron.

“We are entering these negotiations convinced that the US is the party that can have leverage over Israel. Their role was critical in reaching the ceasefire, and we hope they will continue exercising their leverage over Israel”.

On disarming Hezbollah, a core Israeli and Western demand, Salam said it was a process, not an overnight event. He added that Lebanon was not making concessions by sitting at the table.

“I don’t know what we can achieve through negotiation, but I know what we want.”