Aoun: A return to the era of tutelages is unacceptable

President Joseph Aoun stressed Wednesday that "it is impossible to live outside the framework of the state, as experience has proven," warning that "anything else is a sin" against the country.

"An attack on any part of Lebanon means an attack on the entire country. No region can be separated from Lebanon as a whole," he added.

He noted that his efforts aim to "stop the attacks, secure Israel's withdrawal, ensure the return of the displaced and prisoners, deploy the army in the south and have it solely responsible for security, and to oversee reconstruction."

"The goal is one, but the methods are different. The experience of war did not lead us to our goal, and its final toll was nearly four thousand martyrs and billions of dollars in material losses, without achieving any results," Aoun pointed out.

He also said that he is "in complete agreement with the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister, contrary to what is being reported in the media."

"The goal of the negotiations in Washington is to restore the state's authority, so that the Lebanese people are no longer subservient to anyone, whether through a tutelary power or through someone negotiating on our behalf," Aoun added.

He emphasized that "a return to the era of tutelages, regardless of their source, is unacceptable."

"We welcome assistance from any country, but there is a significant difference between providing assistancd and interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs for the benefit of any other country at the expense of Lebanese interests, which we will not tolerate," Aoun underscored.

"I have decided to pursue negotiations and will continue them until the end because Lebanon is a founding member of the United Nations and possesses its own entity and sovereignty. Furthermore, I am convinced that wars achieve nothing but losses," the president went on to say.