Lebanon and Israel resumed talks on Tuesday, this time in the Italian capital, with Beirut hoping for progress toward securing an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon under a US-brokered deal, although expectations for swift progress were low.

The sixth round of talks represented the first meeting between the sides since a framework agreement was signed between the two countries in Washington last month.

The negotiations are expected to focus on the pilot program, which will see the Lebanese Armed Forces move into territory the IDF will withdraw from, with the aim of ensuring that it is clear of Hezbollah weapons.

Israel’s Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter leads the Israeli delegation.

A US military delegation met with representatives of Lebanon’s army in Beirut earlier this week to discuss the implementation of Israel’s withdrawal.

A Lebanese official told AFP over the weekend that his country would take part in the planned talks, after Beirut had previously conditioned participation on Israel withdrawing from the areas designated for the pilot program.

Ahead of the new round, a senior Israeli official told Channel 12 on Monday that the sides will discuss — and likely disagree over — the pace of the pilot program.

“In Lebanon, they are trying to assert as much control as possible over the process, to enable the expansion of the pilot program in the future,” the official told the network. “As far as we’re concerned, as long as the first pilot doesn’t prove itself, there will be no further withdrawals.”

The official added that there was a disagreement over the metrics by which to determine whether the Lebanese military had completed its mission.

US-led diplomacy has emerged since Hezbollah and Israel returned to war on March 2 amid the wider regional conflict. It has moved forward despite strong objections from the Iran-backed terror group.

Iran demanded an end to the war in Lebanon as part of its interim deal with Washington signed last month, but that agreement has been shaken over the last week by renewed US-Iranian hostilities in the........

© The Times of Israel