WASHINGTON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that Israel and Lebanon have reached a U.S.-brokered framework agreement for "lasting peace and security," despite repeated failures to uphold previous ceasefire agreements between the two neighbors.

The framework agreement, signed at the end of the latest round of ambassador-level talks in Washington, D.C. on Friday, called again for the implementation of a fragile ceasefire between the two Mideast nations.

"Today is a good day in that we are happy to announce a framework agreement between the sovereign government of Lebanon and, of course, the government of Israel, with a mediation and support of the United States of America that begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security," Rubio said at the signing ceremony.

However, details of the framework agreement remain unclear, and neither side explained how it differs from previous ceasefire agreements.

"The two sides agreed with the guidance of the United States to swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

"These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement," the statement read.

The agreement was signed by Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, and Nada Hamadeh, the Lebanese ambassador to the United States. Hamadeh described the framework as "a first step" on the road to restoring Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as securing a final cessation of hostilities.

"In this performance-based trilateral framework agreement, Iran is out. Hezbollah is out. And the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in," said Leiter.

Since the April ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect, Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly accused each other of breaching the ceasefire, which has been extended several times. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, is not a party of the talks. ■