A US warship docked off the port of Beirut on Saturday in what American Ambassador Elizabeth Richard said was a sign of the “enduring partnership between the US and Lebanon”.
Vice Admiral James Malloy, commander of the US Fifth Fleet, was aboard the USS Rampage, which hosted a reception for Lebanese politicians.
Representatives of all parliamentary blocs, except Hezbollah, attended the event.
Malloy said that the warship hosted a naval drill with the Lebanese military in 2018.
The US embassy tweeted that the USS Ramage, a destroyer class vessel, “entered Beirut port on September 14 as a symbol of the enduring partnership between the US and Lebanon to ensure security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean.”
It said the vessel was on a “goodwill visit to showcase the strong US-Lebanon relationship and a commitment to freedom of navigation.”
