Khaberni - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, on Monday, stated that the negotiating path with Israel is the only way to achieve the country's supreme interest, confirming that the army faces a fate-deciding task in extending its control over the entirety of Lebanese territories.
Aoun added during a joint press conference with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Beirut: "I say that our army has a fate-deciding role in these circumstances because it alone, without a partner, neither from outside the state nor from outside Lebanon, must extend our state's authority over its entire territories and borders, such that Israeli aggressions on our land cease, and Israel withdraws from the points it occupies inside Lebanon."
He continued: "This must accompany the negotiating process, which we consider the only way to achieve our national goals and Lebanon’s supreme interest," noting that Lebanon has negotiated with Israel more than ten times, the latest in 2022 for the demarcation of maritime borders, and last year to stop the war with "Hezbollah," and to confine weapons to the hands of the state.
Can negotiations with Israel save Lebanon from its crises?
“Foreign Policy” magazine reported that Lebanon has become "the third Arab country in recent months" to conduct talks with Israel, after they began on Wednesday in the border town of Naqoura.
Despite an armistice agreement concluded a year ago after a war with "Hezbollah" ignited by the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, Israel still controls locations in southern Lebanon, and continues to conduct attacks on the east and south of the country.
Aoun went on to say: "Today (with the Bulgarian President) we reviewed the situation in our region, especially after the Gaza Agreement, which we support and strengthen the hands of its sponsors."
He concluded his statement: "And we first call on them to continue implementing the Gaza Agreement in full, then to expand it to include other ongoing crises, so that these efforts may culminate in comprehensive peace in our region."
Israeli Aggressions
On Sunday, the Lebanese President said that the army is working in cooperation with security agencies to pursue "terrorist cells" in his country, affirming the necessity of pressuring Israel to stop "its ongoing aggressions" on Lebanon to complete the deployment of the army to the southern borders, and to activate the weapons exclusivity plan.
In a statement via the "X" platform, the Lebanese presidency clarified that Aoun assured during a meeting with a delegation from the US Treasury Department that the negotiating option, supported by the United States, requires a suitable climate, demanding a cessation of hostilities and the achievement of stability in the south.
The Lebanese president demanded that pressure be exerted on Israel to abide by United Nations Security Council Resolution "1701" and the agreement reached last year to activate the army's deployment plan in the south, to enforce the weapons exclusivity decision by the state.
The American delegation assured its readiness to assist Lebanon in its quest to achieve security and stability in the south, to support the army in extending state authority over Lebanese territories, to abolish armed appearances, and to enable legitimate security forces to fully perform their roles.
