❗️Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to Al-Araby al-Jadeed:

– "Hezbollah has no intention of being dragged into a new war."

– "I’m working to make 2025 the year when all weapons are exclusively under state control."

– "We will not replicate the Popular Mobilization Forces model to integrate Hezbollah into the army, nor allow it to exist as an independent unit within the military."

– "Hezbollah members can join the army and undergo integration training, just as members of other parties did at the end of the Lebanese civil war."

– "Speaker Nabih Berri and I are in full agreement on all matters, especially on the need to centralize arms under the state."

– "The Americans know that normalization or peace talks with Israel are not on the table right now."

– "I did not discuss forming diplomatic committees to handle sensitive files with Israel during my talks with Morgan Ortagus."

– "I told Ortagus that Israel’s presence in the five disputed points gives Hezbollah a justification."

– "I also told Ortagus that we want to disarm Hezbollah, but without sparking a civil war in Lebanon."

– "Hezbollah has shown restraint and a high level of awareness during this period. It has acted responsibly by not responding to Israeli violations."

– "A decision has been made to confine weapons to the state. The question now is how to implement it, which I believe should be through bilateral dialogue between the presidency and Hezbollah."