Aoun: We Don't Want War with Anyone, U.S. Must Put End to Israel Violations
President Michel Aoun on Thursday called on Washington to press Israel to stop its "continued violations against Lebanon's territorial, maritime and aerial sovereignty," during talks in Baabda with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Aoun also told Tillerson that the U.S. should urge Israel to "commit to the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701."
Rejecting Israel's claims about owning parts of Lebanon's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Lebanese territorial waters, the president emphasized that Lebanon is "committed to calm on the southern border."
"We don't want war with anyone, whereas Israel is continuing its attacks on us and the memories of its wars are still vivid in the minds of southerners. That's why we call on the United Nations and the international community to play an active role in this regard," Aoun added.
Thanking the U.S. for its continued support for the Lebanese Army, the president said: "The same as we liberated the land from terrorist groups, we will continue to dismantle the remaining cells through preemptive security operations."
Turning to the Syrian refugee crisis, Aoun said Lebanon "which hosted more than 1.85 million Syrian refugees on its soil since the beginning of the bloody events in Syria, can no longer bear further repercussions on its security, stability, economy and social, educational and health situations."
"The United States stands with the Lebanese people for a free and democratic Lebanon," Tillerson, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the country in four years, wrote in the visitors' book after the talks with Aoun.
Tillerson arrived in the Lebanese capital earlier in the day as part of a regional tour.
The visit coincides with heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel over oil and gas reserves and Israel's construction of a border wall that Lebanon says encroaches on its territory.
The long-standing maritime dispute resurfaced recently as Lebanon invited companies to sign exploration deals. U.S. officials have previously tried to mediate the dispute.
Lebanon is also protesting Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, often to bomb targets inside neighboring Syria.
Source: Naharnet, Associated Press
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/242205 |