Aoun’s statements reminiscent of Syrian president
“There is a minority group of ministers who refuse to take into account the political situation in Lebanon and the Lebanese situation in light of the weapons of the Resistance,” MP Butrous Harb said on Tuesday.
After meeting with a student delegation representing the World Lebanese Cultural Union (WLCU), Harb said the minority insisted on adopting the ministerial statement of the former government, while there were “new conditions” that did not allow the re-issuance of the same text without amendments.
On disarmament, Harb said Free Patriotic Movement leader General Michel Aoun’s recent statement that Hezbollah’s weapons must be upheld until the Palestinians were guaranteed their right to return and all issues related to the Palestinian cause and resettlement were resolved reminded him of “the Syrian position in a statement issued by President Bashar al-Assad and his Foreign Minister, that disarmament would only be resolved after the southern border and Palestinian issues were resolved.”
“While we join General Aoun’s non-acceptance of the Resistance as terrorism, we also do not accept that the future of Lebanon be at stake, nor do we accept that forces in Lebanon remain outside the framework of the Lebanese state, pending the resolution of the Palestinian issue,” he added.
MP Harb also renewed his call for discussions on how to defend Lebanese territories and develop a national defense strategy.