Report: Aoun won't cede negotiations file to Berri or Hezbollah

President Joseph Aoun will not accept that Hezbollah "seize control of the decision to make peace, dictating its form, conditions, and timing," after it had controlled the decision to wage war, informed official sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.

"Baabda Palace is proceeding with contacts with key decision-making capitals to prepare for negotiations and is working diligently to form a delegation to participate whenever the time comes, despite the political and treacherous provocations being stirred up by Hezbollah officials and their media outlets," the report said.

According to the sources, "if Hezbollah believes that a solution will emerge through alternative channels like Ain el-Tineh, as happened during the 2014 ceasefire agreement, it is mistaken."

"This time, there is no presidential vacuum, and President Aoun insists on holding the reins of the negotiations and being the mandatory conduit for any solution," the sources stressed.