This article is from: srnnews.com
Vance Cancels Trip To Geneva for Official MoU Singing
By The Media Line Staff
The White House announced late Thursday that Vice President JD Vance had canceled his planned trip to Switzerland for the official signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) intended to end the conflict with Iran.
The cancellation came hours after Vance indicated at a White House press conference that his travel plans remained uncertain, despite earlier announcements that a ceremony had been scheduled for Friday in Geneva.
Earlier in the week, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Pakistan would host a ceremony in Switzerland to mark the agreement and launch technical-level negotiations.
Speaking Thursday, Vance said, “My plan is to go to Switzerland,” but added that he did not know “exactly when.”
“We think these technical negotiations are going to start sometime this weekend — that’s still the plan — but that could change,” he said.
It remains unclear whether or when the vice president will reschedule the trip.
President Donald Trump digitally signed the MoU on Wednesday in Versailles. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also signed the document. Friday’s event was intended to serve as a ceremonial signing and the formal start of negotiations.
The White House announcement came as fighting continued in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces said four soldiers, including a battalion commander, were killed by a Hezbollah drone in southern Lebanon. The military said it subsequently carried out strikes against Hezbollah targets.
During Thursday’s press conference, Vance criticized Israel’s military approach and resistance to the MoU, which would, among other provisions, limit Israel’s ability to target Hezbollah and respond to attacks.
“It’s clear that large segments of the Israeli political system and population are very sensitive about this deal,” he said. “But I also think they’re picking up on some misinformation about the deal and running with it and sort of panicking about it.”
Addressing Israeli opponents of the agreement, Vance added: “I guess my response to them would be: What is your exact proposal? You’re a country of nine million people. You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have.” (Vance incorrectly stated the population of Israel at nine million, when the correct number is 10 million.)
President Donald Trump also criticized Israel’s military operations in Lebanon during the G7 conference.
“We have a little dispute over Lebanon,” he told reporters. “I say, ‘You can do a little softer touch, Bibi. You don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.’”
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