President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun to Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani:
Lebanon hopes that during the anticipated meeting tomorrow in Washington between the ambassadors of Lebanon, the United States, and Israel, an agreement will be reached on a ceasefire in Lebanon, with the aim of launching direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. These negotiations will be conducted by a Lebanese negotiating team to put an end to hostilities and to follow with practical steps to consolidate stability in the south in particular and in Lebanon in general.
There is now an opportunity to reach a sustainable solution, which is what Lebanon wants. But this cannot be one-sided; Israel must respond to the Lebanese, Arab, and international calls to halt its attacks on Lebanon and begin negotiations, especially since Israel’s successive wars against Lebanon have failed to achieve the objectives Israel sought from them since 1982 until today.
Israel’s destruction of Lebanese areas is not the solution and will achieve no result, because diplomatic solutions have always been the best way to resolve armed conflicts around the world.
We welcome Italy’s willingness to host the direct Lebanese-Israeli negotiations.
Negotiations with Israel are handled by the Lebanese state and no other party, because this is a sovereign matter in which Lebanon has no partner.
Lebanon has taken a series of security measures at Rafik Hariri International Airport and at the land and sea border crossings to prevent arms smuggling or the flow of illicit funds, and the army and other security forces are being strict in enforcing the laws to prevent any breaches that do not serve security and financial stability in the country.
Thank you for the support Italy provides to Lebanon and for the role played by the Italian battalion within the United Nations Interim Force in the South (UNIFIL), while expressing appreciation for the sacrifices of the peacekeepers, who are from time to time subjected to direct Israeli attacks, some of whom have fallen as martyrs.
