Aoun: Necessity of alignment between Lebanese and American positions to implement the framework agreement with the first Israeli withdrawal

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed the necessity of aligning Lebanon’s stance with that of the United States regarding the implementation of the trilateral framework, specifically through achieving the first Israeli withdrawal from the first model zone.

Aoun emphasized, during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, according to a statement from the Lebanese Presidency, the need to strengthen U.S. support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and military institutions, and to take necessary steps to consolidate American interest in Lebanon across economic and investment dimensions in various sectors, particularly energy, telecommunications, and transportation.

For his part, Minister Rubio said: “We support the positions of the President of the Republic and the steps he has taken to restore the sovereignty of the Lebanese state over its entire territory, implement the trilateral action agreement, and revive Lebanon’s role through the return of economic prosperity and the extension of state sovereignty over its entire territory.”

The U.S. Secretary of State added that “Lebanon cannot be annexed to any other negotiation track, and Lebanese sovereignty can only be determined by a Lebanese decision issued by Lebanon’s constitutional institutions.”

For her part, the U.S. Department of State commended the Lebanese government’s efforts “to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah, and dismantle its infrastructure.”

The U.S. State Department stated in a statement that Secretary Marco Rubio renewed his affirmation of U.S. support for the successful implementation of the framework agreement. The U.S. Department of State commended the Lebanese government’s efforts “to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah, and dismantle its infrastructure,” considering that this “moves forward toward peace.”