US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack gives a press conference after his meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister at the government palace in Beirut. AFP
"The Hezbollah disarmament... is something that is so internal," Barrack told a press conference in Beirut after meeting Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, adding that if it didn't happen it would be "disappointing".
Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of more than a year of hostilities including two months of open war between Israel and Hezbollah have vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire and has warned it will continue to strike until the group has been disarmed.
Barrack said the November cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah "didn't work".
"America is not here to compel Israel to do anything. We're here to use our influence to bring calm minds together to come to a conclusion," he added.
Last month, Barrack urged Lebanese leaders to commit to disarming Hezbollah, the only group to retain weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, during which Israel invaded and occupied southern Lebanon -- fueling deep resentment and distrust toward Israel.
"Your leaders have been more than helpful," he said on his second visit to Beirut this month, adding that "the reforms that are happening... are amazingly plausible and significant".
Earlier Monday, Barrack met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun who gave the envoy a "draft comprehensive memorandum for implementing Lebanon's pledges" since the ceasefire, a presidency statement said.
The draft emphasised the need to extend state authority to the entire country, restrict the bearing of weapons to the army and ensure "decisions of war and peace" rest with Lebanese constitutional authorities, according to the presidency statement.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the region.
Israel was supposed to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and halt its aggression, but instead conducted airstrikes and occupied five strategically key areas, violating the ceasefire.
On Friday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said his group was not ready to lay down its arms before an "existential threat" to Lebanon, adding that "we will not surrender to Israel".
The US "disarmament plan now, at this stage... is for Israel", Qassem said.
"We are ready for any action that leads to a Lebanese understanding... but for Israel and America, we will not do this under any type of threat," he said.
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