Pierre Bou Assi, a member of the "Strong Republic" bloc, affirmed that "during negotiations, Lebanon will demand the restoration of its sovereignty over its territory, and it is only natural that both the Lebanese and Israeli sides seek to achieve their security."
Bou Assi stressed, during a television interview, that "Lebanon will negotiate from a position of weakness as a result of Hezbollah dragging it into a devastating war and under the weight of its threats against the Lebanese government."
He said: "Today, we are faced with two logics in Lebanon that do not meet, and I do not know whether they ever will: the logic of peace represented by the Lebanese state, the greater part of the Lebanese people, and among them the Lebanese Forces; and the logic of the party, war, death, destruction, and claims of victories without any horizon."
In response to a question, Bou Assi repeated Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri’s statement that "civil peace and national unity are the fundamental red line," but at the same time stressed that "we must choose between war and peace, and we have chosen peace." He explained that "the goal is to reach a peace agreement with Israel and end Lebanon’s status as the sole arena of confrontation between regional powers and Israel since 1973."
Bou Assi concluded: "I remind you that Lebanon did not rush toward a peace agreement because it considered that the circumstances were not appropriate, but after the party’s recent wars, the facts have changed, and Lebanon has moved quickly to save its people from this futile war. The ceiling is sovereignty, Israel’s withdrawal, and the monopoly of arms."
