The Lebanese Government Votes in Favor of the American Paper on Weapons Control, Shiite Party Ministers Withdraw

SadaNews - The Lebanese Minister of Information, Paul Marqos, announced on Thursday evening that the Council of Ministers of his country approved the objectives outlined in the introduction of the American paper regarding the consolidation of the ceasefire agreement.

Marqos stated at a press conference at the Baabda Palace, following the conclusion of the Lebanese government's session, that this approval came in light of amendments made by Lebanese officials to the American paper.

He added: We are waiting for an executive plan from the army.. We have agreed to end the armed presence across the entire territory, including Hezbollah, and to deploy the Lebanese army in the border areas.

He emphasized that the specifics of the American paper were not discussed, but only the objectives were approved.

He said: We will continue to discuss the parts that we have not yet approved in light of the report from the army command.

He considered that the withdrawal of the Shiite ministers from the government session does not raise the issue of constitutional legitimacy, affirming that the ministers who withdrew from the session are committed to the ministerial statement which stipulates that weapons should be in the hands of the state.

He pointed out that there were attempts to dissuade the Shiite ministers from leaving the government session, but they made that decision so that the decision would not be taken in their presence.

He noted that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun revealed that he received international calls to initiate international and Arab efforts to save the Lebanese economy, and there are measures in preparation for that.

The session was held in the presence of the Shiite party ministers before their withdrawal, who are Tamara Al-Zein, Rakan Nasreddin, Mohammed Haidar, and Fadi Makki.

The media office of Environment Minister Tamara Al-Zein announced in a statement that "some social media outlets are circulating news claiming that there was an altercation between Minister Tamara Al-Zein and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam," affirming that the statement "is completely unfounded, and there was no such verbal exchange or disagreement either in form or content."
 

It clarified that "in light of this type of fabricated news, Minister Al-Zein calls on the media and social media users to exercise the highest degree of accuracy and professionalism and to adhere to publishing ethics, especially in light of the delicate phase Lebanon is going through."