The US special envoy to Lebanon continued his meetings with Lebanese leaders in the capital Beirut on Monday.

Tom Barrack, accompanied by Morgan Ortagus, Deputy US Special Envoy to the Middle East, met with the Lebanese Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

“We are all moving in the right direction,” Barrack said after his meeting with Berri, adding that discussions focused on ”how to get peace and prosperity for all the people.”

Earlier, Barrack said that his team would discuss the long-term cessation of hostilities with Israel, after Beirut endorsed a US-backed plan for the Hezbollah militant group to disarm.

Barrack, following a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, also said Washington would seek an economic proposal for post-war reconstruction in the country, after months of shuttle diplomacy between the US and Lebanon.

Lebanon’s decision last week to support a plan to disarm Hezbollah angered the Iran-backed group and its allies, who believe Israel’s military should first withdraw from the five hilltops it has occupied in southern Lebanon since the end of its 14-month war with Hezbollah last November.

Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, has vowed to fight efforts to disarm the group, sowing fears of civil unrest in the country.

Aoun and Salam both want to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups, and have demanded Israel halt its attacks and withdraw from the country.

Aoun said he wants to increase funding for Lebanon's cash-strapped military to bolster its capacity.

He also wants to raise money from international donors to help rebuild the country.

AP video by Mohammad Anouti and Ali Sharafeddine

AP production: Ali Sharafeddine