“We took Lebanon back for the first time in 50 years.” President Aoun's speech to the Lebanese
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that his country is no longer “the scene of anyone's wars”, after the implementation of the armistice in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, reports AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
“We are confident that we will save Lebanon (…), we have recovered Lebanon and Lebanon's decision-making power for the first time in almost half a century,” Aoun said in his first address to the nation since Thursday's ceasefire.
“Today we negotiate for ourselves (…), we are no longer a pawn in anyone's game, nor the scene of anyone's wars, and we never will be,” he added.
According to Reuters, he stressed that any future agreement reached by the government would not cede any territory or undermine Lebanon's national rights, without specifying whether it referred to potential talks with Israel.
The televised speech was President Aoun's first since announcing a US-brokered ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group on Thursday. The text of the agreement stipulates that Israel and Lebanon will hold direct talks to produce a “peace between the two countries”.
