US Ambassador to Turkey clarifies: "The policy of recognizing the Golan has not changed"
After causing a stir, Tom Burke explains that his remarks about the UN were intended only to describe a historical reality. He emphasizes that the US is not negotiating with Hezbollah but only with the Lebanese government, and that the key question is how the terrorist organization will be disarmed without direct involvement from Tehran.
The United States Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Burke, clarified today, Sunday, that the American administration's policy regarding the Golan Heights remains as it was established in 2019. Burke denied reports of a withdrawal from the recognition and explained his statements regarding the settlement in Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
The American ambassador in Ankara clarified following statements that sparked criticism over the past weekend. Burke explained that his words about the status of the Golan Heights were not intended to support the UN's position, but to describe a historical fact according to which territories captured by force remain a subject of international dispute even decades later. He emphasized that political understandings reached through negotiations hold up better than drawing maps, and reiterated that the policy regarding the Golan has not changed at all.
Regarding the Lebanese arena, the ambassador completely ruled out the existence of negotiations with Hezbollah, which he defined as a foreign terrorist organization. He clarified that the United States is conducting contacts solely with the Lebanese government, as it is the only legitimate authority in the country. Burke referred to the framework of understandings signed in Washington at the end of June, and noted that it constitutes a political opportunity for achieving stability and prosperity.
According to Burke, the implementation of the agreements requires a public and honest confrontation with the issue of terror financing and arms supplies. He wondered how it is possible to cause Hezbollah to disarm when its representatives, like their patrons in Tehran, are not sitting at the negotiating table. The ambassador added that these questions are a necessary condition for the continuation of the process, with the goal of finding alternative solutions to the economic support that Iran provides to communities in southern Lebanon.
