LEBANESE President Joseph Aoun has met his United States counterpart Donald Trump at the White House.

The meeting is the first between the two leaders and the first visit to Washington by a Lebanese head of state in nearly 20 years.

The visit comes as Israel has begun a limited pullback from several villages it occupies in southern Lebanon, part of a “pilot zone” agreement brokered by Washington last week in Rome.

The talks come at a fraught moment for Lebanon, with hundreds of thousands displaced in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, as Mr Aoun seeks US support to enforce a June framework agreement calling for a phased Israeli withdrawal in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

The US has been increasingly distracted by the new escalation of its illegal and unprovoked war in Iran, which has destabilised much of the Middle East. 

In the meantime, Lebanon and Israel have held rare direct talks mediated by Washington.

Mr Trump told Mr Aoun during the meeting that Lebanon had been “a very badly treated place and country, and we’re going to have it properly treated and treated with the respect it deserves. 

“We’re gonna help it a lot,” he said, without giving concrete details.

Hours later, Mr Trump made the surprise announcement that he’d allow US carriers to resume direct flights to Lebanon for the first time in 40-plus years after the US suspended the route.

He took to social media after Mr Aoun had left the White House, saying: “I am hereby directing my Administration to allow all US airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land.”

However, it is highly unlikely US carriers will want to fly into Lebanon in the near future.

Mr Trump said earlier of Israel’s army withdrawing from Lebanon: “They’re in the process of doing that,” but didn’t elaborate.