Lebanon waits for ‘right conditions’ to bring all weapons under state control: President

Lebanon will place all weapons under state control, but will wait for the “right conditions” to determine how to execute it, President Joseph Aoun said on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

“The Lebanese people do not want war, and therefore the armed forces are the only body responsible for Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence,” he said following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai.

He said the state will deal with the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons “with vision and responsibility.”

“This is essential to preserving civil peace, and I will take responsibility for it in cooperation with the government,” he added.

“We will place the weapons under state control, but we are waiting for the right conditions to determine how this will be done,” Aoun said.

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Hezbollah did not immediately comment on Aoun’s comments.

Aoun vowed in an earlier interview with the London-based Arabic outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed to place all weapons under state control in 2025.

He said that Hezbollah members could join the Lebanese army and “undergo integration training.”

In 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1701 to cease hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, establishing a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and calling for the implementation of the Taif Agreement and other international resolutions, which require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon.

International pressure has been increasing on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah since the November ceasefire agreement that ended more than a year of cross-border clashes with Israel.

Lebanese authorities have reported more than 2,763 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of at least 193 victims and injuries to 485 others.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Israel refused to comply. It still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.

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