Obama, Suleiman, address weapons and peace

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Enforcing a 2006 cease-fire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel is making progress, but is largely incomplete, the U.S. president said in Washington.

U.S. President Barack Obama met with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman at the White House to discuss economic and military assistance to Beirut.

Washington is a strong backer of the Lebanese military, which is struggling to gain strength in the wake of a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The Suleiman visit comes as Lebanese lawmakers approved a measure that allows Hezbollah, now part of the government, to maintain an armed resistance to an Israeli threat. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which helped broker the 2006 cease-fire, obligates Hezbollah to disarm while calling on Israel to respect Lebanese sovereignty.

Suleiman called on Washington to do more to pressure Israel to end its repeated incursions on Lebanese territory, singling out the Israeli threat for harming developing in his country.

Obama, for his part, reminded Suleiman that "extensive arms" smuggling into Lebanon posed a direct threat to Israel. On Hezbollah's weapons, the U.S. president said that while there are differences between the two governments on that issue, the overall relationship with Beirut is one based on peace.

"What we do share is a commitment to resolve these issues through dialogue and negotiations, as opposed to through violence," he said.