U.S President Donald Trump talked to the press during a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday, where he criticised Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Tel Aviv’s continous attacks on Lebanon.
“I had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon,” said Trump.
He said Israel’s war against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah had gone on too long and that it did not justify the civilian casualties.
“You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody because there’s a lot of people in those apartment houses and they’re not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you,” he said.
The Republican leader also suggested letting Syria handle the situation with Hezbollah.
“If Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else, Syria should do the job,” he said “I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah, because to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job of doing it.”
Trump also praised Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, stating “he has pulled that country together very quickly, he’s very capable, and he’s very good for me. He’s protected everything that I’ve asked for”.
Trump’s coversation with Qatari Emir
Trump and Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani discussed West Asian security and the new peace agreement with Iran during their bilateral meeting at the G7 summit.
He told the Emir that the peace deal with Iran “should be successful” and said he expected the next phase of talks to “be actually easier”.
President Trump also refuted rumours that the United States was paying reparations to Iran, calling it “ridiculous”.
The Emir expressed optimism in the agreement bringing positive results across the Gulf region. He thanked Trump for his leadership and called the latest agreement between the United States and Iran a “very importan deal”.
Trump reciprocated, stating that Washington was “very,very impressed with Qatar” for its mediation efforts.
