India, April 15 -- The US State Department said the first high-level meeting between Israel and Lebanon in decades was "productive" and would continue, with the goal of launching direct negotiations.

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In a statement issued after the two-hour meeting in Washington involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors, the State Department said, "All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue."

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott added, "The participants held productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon."

It also described the meeting as the first "major high-level en...