May 31 (Reuters) – ⁠U.S. ⁠Secretary of ⁠State Marco Rubio has ​spoken with both Lebanese ‌President Joseph Aoun ‌and ⁠Israeli ⁠Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the diplomatic ​negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, a ​U.S. official said on Sunday.

The ⁠U.S. ⁠has proposed ⁠that as ​a first step Hezbollah will ​stop ⁠all attacks on Israel and in return Israel ⁠would refrain from escalation in Beirut, the ⁠official said.

The U.S. official added that Aoun tried to advance this proposal, but Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri placed ⁠the burden on Israel to stop “shooting first.”

(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in ​Bengaluru; Editing by ​Himani Sarkar)

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