BEIRUT, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Friday called for an expansion of pilot areas in southern Lebanon and a clear timetable for Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory, local media reported.
Salam made the remarks during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and U.S. General Joseph Clearfield, head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, and an accompanying military delegation, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA).
The meeting focused on the military aspect of the negotiating framework and the latest developments in southern Lebanon. Salam stressed the need for Israel to halt its destructive operations, expand the scope of the pilot areas and set a clear timetable for its withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
In a separate meeting with Clearfield, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri discussed the situation on the ground, the group's work following the identification of pilot areas, and mechanisms for verifying an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army, the NNA said.
Earlier this month, Israeli and Lebanese officials 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. ■
