Joseph Aoun and António Guterres from Baabda Palace: Calls for a Ceasefire and for Strengthening State Sovereignty in Lebanon

During his meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, President Joseph Aoun stressed the need to halt Israeli attacks and achieve a ceasefire in order to move forward with the next steps in line with the initiative he previously launched.

Aoun also highlighted the importance of addressing the situation of displaced people, whose number has approached more than 800,000, expressing appreciation for the United Nations’ continued support and solidarity with Lebanon.

He warned that the continuation of Israeli attacks would affect stability across the entire region. Aoun added that he had expressed readiness to enter negotiations, but that no response has yet been received from the other side.

The Lebanese president also said that Lebanon is looking forward to the support of the international community during this critical phase.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, speaking from Baabda Palace, expressed full solidarity with the Lebanese people and strongly called on both Hezbollah and Israel to cease fire and stop the war.

Guterres emphasized that this step is necessary to pave the way for a solution that would allow Lebanon to be an independent country with full sovereignty over its territory, where the state holds the exclusive authority to enforce security.