BEIRUT: Senior representatives of the armed forces of the United States and Lebanon held talks Monday on continuing cooperation between the two countries, a U.S. Embassy statement said Monday.

Lt. Gen. Vincent Brooks, commanding general of U.S. Army Central Command, met with Lebanese Army Gen. Jean Kahwaji and the two discussed bilateral security cooperation, a statement from the U.S. Embassy said.

Brooks’ visit comes amid heightened pressure on Washington from the U.S. Congress to curb military aid to Lebanon on fears from some officials that weapons intended for the Lebanese Army might end up in the hands of Hezbollah, a group the United States has listed as a “terrorist organization.”

During his meeting with Kahwaji, Brooks expressed the U.S.’ “appreciation of the strong partnership between the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces] and the United Sates and praised the LAF’s professional performance fulfilling its national duties.”

The senior U.S. army official also called on the Lebanese Army to carry on with its efforts to fulfill its end of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 and “stressed the importance of a strong U.S.-LAF partnership to further bolster its operational capacity to implement UNSCR 1701.”