Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed on Monday that negotiation is safer than war, but it takes time.
Aoun said, while receiving a delegation from the Lebanese Private Sector Network, that “negotiation is safer than war, as we have seen and are still seeing the scourges of war and its consequences. However, it will not solve the problem within moments. Rather, it is a path that requires time, and we have no other choice.”
He added: “Unfortunately, some consider negotiation to be surrender, but it is not so. It is not a concession, but rather a solution to stop wars with the least possible harm.”
He continued: “We will not back down from our choice, and all of us in Lebanon, as officials, are doing the impossible. The negotiations may be hindered or delayed in achieving the goal we want, but they are progressing. All matters will be resolved through negotiation, no matter how long it takes. The war will not achieve results for all its parties.”
Aoun indicated, in a statement published by the Lebanese presidency, that the army did not announce that the southern region had become demilitarized and devoid of weapons, and according to the military concept, there was now operational control over the region by the army.
He explained that “emptying the south of weapons requires time in light of the geographical nature of this land rich in mountains and valleys, and the army carried out its duties in this area,” pointing out that the missiles that were fired at the beginning of the war were from the northern Litani area.
Aoun stated that “the Israelis, for their part, did not help implement the ceasefire agreement, according to which Israel had to evacuate the five points it occupied, but it continued its military operations and bombing villages under the pretext of self-defense.”
