JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli, U.S. and Lebanese officials met in Naqoura, Lebanon, on Wednesday to discuss potential economic cooperation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office said the meeting, held at the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, brought together the deputy head of Israel's National Security Council foreign policy division, U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser on Lebanon, Morgan Ortagus, and "Lebanese civilian representatives."

It said the talks were conducted "in a positive atmosphere" and that the sides agreed to begin drafting ideas for possible economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon.

Israel told participants that dismantling Hezbollah's military capabilities "is required regardless of any progress" on economic issues, the statement said, adding that the sides agreed to hold follow-up discussions.

According to Elnashra, a Lebanese news website, former Lebanese ambassador to the United States, Simon Karam, headed the Lebanese delegation, accompanied by military officers. The Lebanese side focused on Israeli "ceasefire violations" and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which aims to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Wednesday that economic talks with Israel could form part of a future normalization process, but any such steps must follow a peace agreement and remain distant for now.

"Normalization would follow peace. It cannot precede peace," Salam told reporters in his office, adding, "We are still far from that."

Speaking about Hezbollah's disarmament, Salam said the first phase of bringing all weapons under state authority would not be completed unless Israel withdraws from territories it continues to occupy. He also said Lebanon is open to U.S. and French verification of remaining Hezbollah weapons caches in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah, however, condemned Wednesday's talks as a betrayal of "national dignity" and the sacrifices of "resistors," demanding that any negotiations remain indirect and protect Lebanon's rights.

The meeting comes amid near-daily Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire that went into effect in November 2024, ending months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel and Lebanon, which remain technically at war, have no diplomatic ties and usually communicate only indirectly, typically through the United Nations or foreign mediators.