Lebanese Foreign Minister: We Will No Longer Accept Lebanon's Territory Being Used as a Platform to Threaten the Security of Arab Brothers

Beirut, Oct 31 (KUNA) -- Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Youssef Raji affirmed on Saturday that Lebanon will no longer allow its territory to be used as a platform to threaten the security of its Arab brothers or as a bargaining chip in settlements negotiated outside its borders.

In a statement, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Raji’s remarks were made during a speech at the 22nd edition of the “Manama Dialogue – Regional Security Summit,” organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in the Bahraini capital. He reaffirmed Lebanon’s full solidarity with Bahrain and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries “in the face of Iranian aggression and that carried out by armed groups linked to Iran,” rejecting any infringement on their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.

Raji warned against threats to navigation security in the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab strait, and the Red Sea, noting that “Gulf security is no longer separate from Red Sea security, and the latter is linked to the security of the Eastern Mediterranean.”

During a special session on the Eastern Mediterranean, titled “Eastern Mediterranean: A Crossroads of Continents and a Bridge to the Gulf,” he stated that “no state has the right to pursue its regional ambitions through armed organizations operating outside state authority,” adding that Lebanon “has experienced for years the devastating consequences of armed groups becoming instruments of external influence, and Lebanese people have paid heavy prices for wars they did not choose.”

Raji stressed that GCC countries have never been merely economic partners, but have hosted generations of Lebanese and stood by Lebanon during its most difficult periods. He affirmed that “the ties binding Lebanon to its brothers in the Gulf have proven their resilience, even during periods when relations were strained due to interests that pertain to our affairs, which we have not endorsed.”

The Lebanese Foreign Minister called for a comprehensive Arab strategic partnership in the face of major transformations, “contingent on the establishment of strong, fully sovereign states whose legitimate institutions alone hold the authority to decide on war and peace.”

Raji outlined the path for the Lebanese state to reclaim its authority, recalling government decisions to monopolize weapons within the state and ban the military and security activities of Hezbollah. He noted that these measures “were not a response to external dictates, but stemmed from a firm, sovereign Lebanese conviction, and are not merely political stances or declarations of intent.”

He affirmed that reclaiming sovereignty in Lebanon also requires the complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation from occupied Lebanese territories, an end to aggressions, and the implementation of International Resolution 1701.

Raji urged GCC countries to support the Lebanese Army and security institutions and to resume investments, emphasizing that Lebanon “aspires to renew political and strategic partnership, based on the understanding that a sovereign, stable, and prosperous Lebanon is a strategic Arab interest, not merely a Lebanese one.”

Concluding his remarks, the Lebanese Foreign Minister said that “the future of our region must not remain hostage to the ambitions of armed militias, the calculations of external powers, or settlements negotiated at the expense of our countries’ sovereignty and our peoples’ interests. Rather, it must be shaped by sovereign, cohesive states that are aware of their interests, united among themselves, and capable of assuming responsibility for their own security, stability, and self-determination.”

On the sidelines of his participation in the 22nd Manama Dialogue, Raji held a series of meetings with Arab and foreign officials, including Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, German Deputy Minister of Defense Niels Annen, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Donald Blum. During his meeting with Blum, they discussed the importance of the government continuing its reform path and the necessity of sustained U.S. support for the Lebanese Army. (End) A.Y.B./R.J.