Lebanese-Greek summit in Athens... and ministerial meeting on UNIFIL withdrawal
Beirut - Mansour Shaaban
Lebanese President General Joseph Aoun held official talks with his Greek counterpart, Konstantinos Tassoulas, in Athens, where he arrived yesterday. During his visit, he met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after being received at the airport by Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.
Speaking to his Greek counterpart during the summit held at the Presidential Palace in Athens, President Aoun stated that “the best solution to existing problems lies in diplomacy,” adding, “We are advocates of peace and are determined to end the state of hostility with Israel and to establish the best possible relations with our neighbors.”
President Aoun stressed that “the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel under US sponsorship cannot be implemented unilaterally, but must be implemented by both parties, not selectively, but in its entirety,” calling for “Greece’s assistance in this context.” He viewed “Lebanon’s stability as essential to the stability of Greece and Europe.”
For his part, President Tassoulas affirmed that “Greece stands by President Aoun to build peace and consolidate an independent Lebanon,” and pledged that his country “will do its utmost during its presidency of the European Union, starting in January 2027, to strengthen and deepen relations between Lebanon and the Union.”
Addressing his Lebanese counterpart, the Greek President said, “Greece is well aware of the great responsibility resting on your shoulders in leading Lebanon, and we are equally confident that you will be worthy of the task entrusted to you and will steer Lebanon to safe shores after you assumed your duties under very difficult and sensitive circumstances.”
During his meeting with Prime Minister Mitsotakis, President Aoun expressed “Lebanon’s hope for the continuation of Greek support in various fields and at all international forums, starting with the United Nations, where we are seeking the continuation of a UN role in southern Lebanon, as well as in Washington, where we are pursuing a negotiating track to achieve our national objectives, and also within the European Union.”
Noting Lebanon’s two intertwined, protracted crises—the “crisis of an occupation on our land and the crisis of weapons existing outside the authority of our state, which has persisted for decades”—President Aoun stressed that “we have decided today that the only possible solution is to address both problems simultaneously, concurrently, and in parallel: a complete withdrawal of the occupation and full control by our armed forces over all our land.”
For his part, President Mitsotakis affirmed “Greece’s commitment that Athens’s solidarity with Lebanon is not merely verbal, and that the Greek Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces stand by Lebanon and are ready to support it.” He pointed to “many prospects for cooperation through investments and deepening partnerships in many fields, including tourism and culture, as well as in energy and infrastructure, and the role Lebanon can play in transforming the Eastern Mediterranean from a state of tension and conflict into one of peace, cooperation, and understanding.”
Meanwhile, the President of the Republic laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square in the Greek capital.
In Beirut, the regular ministerial meeting was held yesterday, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam. Media Minister Paul Maroun summarized the meeting in a brief briefing on the three main files discussed, “the foremost of which was the issue of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the repercussions that might result from its withdrawal and the vacuum that could be left behind, where the necessity of maintaining an international presence in the south was confirmed.”
