Aoun: Negotiations with Israel are not a sign of weakness and we are entering a new phase towards permanent agreements

SadaNews - President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun said in a speech to the nation on Friday evening that negotiations with Israel "did not come from weakness and are not a weakness or a retreat; they are rooted in the responsibility to protect Lebanon," pointing out that "we have regained Lebanon's decision for the first time in half a century, and we are no longer a card in anyone's pocket or a battlefield for anyone's war."

He added, "We will not enter into any agreement that undermines our rights or diminishes the dignity of our people or relinquishes a grain of soil from our homeland. Our goal is the liberation of all Lebanese territory, the withdrawal of the occupation, the return of the displaced to their homes, the establishment of state control, and the return of prisoners."

Aoun mentioned in his speech, which came after the implementation of the ceasefire agreement after midnight Thursday to Friday, that "we stand on the doorstep of a new phase that transitions from a ceasefire to permanent agreements that preserve our people's rights, the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation. What we have done is the most appropriate and correct, and the agreement came as a result of international and regional efforts, and we have borne a lot for this. "

He also announced his readiness to take full responsibility for Lebanese choices, adding, "I will go anywhere to save Lebanon; the constitution and the law are what govern us, and the unified armed forces are what protect us."

Aoun addressed the Lebanese saying, "Trust that what we are doing today and tomorrow is for your safety, protection, and for your free, dignified, and secure life, and to give your children a future that is more secure and stable, not to cement them as numbers for death every few years, sacrifices for someone far or near. Everyone who fell for the homeland."

He continued, "We are all in the same boat, either we steer it wisely to reach safety, or we sink it and drown with it all. No one has the right to commit that crime, not under the pretext of a slogan, nor out of suicidal instinct, nor loyalty to anything other than Lebanon and its people."

Aoun's speech comes a day after his conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, which was followed by the latter's announcement of the start of the ceasefire in Lebanon after midnight Thursday to Friday, and that he would invite the Lebanese president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet at the White House.

The Lebanese president had refused to speak with Netanyahu over the phone on Thursday after U.S. coordination for the call, and Trump spoke with each of them separately and announced that both "agreed to achieve peace between the two countries."