Aoun says won't back down from the decision to negotiate
President Joseph Aoun on Friday assured a Lebanese Forces delegation led by party leader Samir Geagea that he “will not back down from the decision to negotiate” with Israel, while insisting that he will give explanations to the Lebanese people.
“I have made a difficult choice, and the road is not easy, due to the balance of power, Israeli calculations, the Iranian-American situation, and other complexities. This choice affirms the sovereignty of the Lebanese state and its right to negotiate on its own behalf, and it will extricate it from the effects of the war that was imposed upon it,” Aoun added.
“Why should the Lebanese people continue to pay the price for wars instigated from abroad and for the interests of those abroad?” the president wondered.
He suggested that the framework agreement signed with Israel with U.S. sponsorship “will restore Lebanon's rights through diplomatic means, provided that Israel adheres to its terms and its implementation is successful.”
“Today we have an opportunity to reclaim the gains we lost through a senseless war, especially given the current American focus on Lebanon and the United States' ability to pressure Israel to remove the obstacles it is creating,” Aoun went on to say.
“Things are gradually being resolved, and all the criticism directed at this process stems from a desire to return the Lebanese issue to Iran's control,” the president added.
Source: Naharnet
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