Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Lebanon is open to a future peace agreement with Israel once its core demands are met, while stressing that Beirut’s immediate priority remains securing a ceasefire and ending the war.

In an interview with Al Arabiya on Sunday, Salam said Lebanon currently supports peace “under certain conditions” and described ongoing contacts with Israel as preliminary discussions taking place in Washington ahead of more substantive negotiations.

“We support peace, but this peace has conditions. This is an issue we will reach at a later stage,” Salam said when asked whether the talks were aimed at a ceasefire or a broader peace agreement.

According to Salam, Lebanon’s immediate demands include a ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and the release of Lebanese prisoners detained during the fighting.

“After the Lebanese demands are implemented, we are open to discussing conditions for peace within a broader Arab framework, because this has implications for Arab states,” he said.

Salam said the Lebanese government is currently focused on halting hostilities, ending the war, and enabling displaced residents to return to their towns and villages. He added that Lebanon had demanded a clear timetable for an Israeli withdrawal during the ongoing negotiations.

He said Lebanon “did not choose the war” but was instead drawn into the broader confrontation between Iran and the United States.

“The majority of Lebanese support negotiations to stop the war,” Salam said.

The prime minister described the scale of destruction in southern Lebanon as devastating, saying the border city of Bint Jbeil “has become a copy of Gaza.” He added that dozens of Lebanese villages remain under Israeli control amid the ongoing escalation in the south.

Salam cited figures ranging from 68 to 86 villages under Israeli occupation, attributing the situation to Lebanon being pulled into the conflict.

He also acknowledged that the Iran-backed Hezbollah opposes negotiations with Israel, but noted that Lebanon had previously entered talks with Israel in 1983, although those negotiations ultimately failed.

On regional relations, Salam said his recent visit to Damascus aimed to elevate cooperation between Lebanon and Syria and strengthen ties based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s affairs.

He said the era of Syrian tutelage over Lebanon and Hezbollah’s military involvement in Syria had come to an end.

Salam added that Lebanon and Syria had made significant progress in economic cooperation in areas including customs duties, transit, transportation, exports, and electricity interconnection, saying the results of those efforts would become visible soon.

He also announced an agreement to establish a Lebanese-Syrian Higher Business Council, which is expected to hold its first meeting in June.