Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. AP
"My goal is to reach an end to the state of war with Israel, similar to the armistice agreement" of 1949, Aoun said in a statement, adding, "I assure you that I will not accept reaching a humiliating agreement."
The president has previously emphasized that these talks, mediated by the United States, are a "natural starting point" and aim to secure a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the return of prisoners.
Aoun also addressed criticism from the Hezbollah movement, which has sharply condemned the direct negotiations between Tel Aviv and Beirut as a "grave sin" and a "free, humiliating concession."
"Those who dragged us into war in Lebanon are now holding us accountable because we made the decision to go to negotiations... What we are doing is not treason. Rather, treason is committed by those who take their country to war to achieve foreign interests," he said.
Earlier on Monday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem further dismissed the talks as "futile" and a threat to national stability, asserting that any resulting agreements would be treated as if they "do not exist."
"These direct negotiations and their outcomes are as if they do not exist for us, and they do not concern us in the slightest," he said, stressing that the Lebanese group—locked in heavy fighting with invading Israeli forces in the south—will continue its "defensive resistance for Lebanon and its people."
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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