Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has unequivocally refused to use force to disarm Hezbollah – and yet he insists that the Lebanese state's military must be the only entity to bear arms.
In a meeting with editors of leading newspapers in the UAE, Mr Aoun was clear: “We refuse the language of war. I will not have a civil war” – a threat he believes is real if brute force is used against Hezbollah.
However, as was clear in his inauguration speech in January, Mr Aoun has made disarming Hezbollah and limiting the use of arms to the state his immediate priority.
“We do not want the language of war in dealing with Hezbollah … the Lebanese are tired of war,” Mr Aoun said.
Lebanon's President
A former commander of the military, his strategy is to win over armed members of Hezbollah, saying that the armed forces “is responsible for every citizen’s protection”.
He said Hezbollah as a political party will continue, but it cannot be an armed group. He said those members of Hezbollah who want to join the country’s security forces “are welcome to”.
Israel’s violations of the fragile ceasefire are complicating Mr Aoun’s efforts. He is seeking diplomatic support to end the Israeli incursion into the country:
“We need the Israelis to withdraw,” he said.
The five locations Israel insists on holding in south Lebanon “have no military significance”, he said.
Asked whether Lebanon would consider a peace deal with Israel, Mr Aoun repeated his country’s stated position – that of the Arab Peace Initiative of the Beirut Summit in 2002. The plan states that ties with Israel are contingent on the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Economy focus
Reforming the security sector, banking sector and stabilising the country are top priorities for Mr Aoun. He said he cannot be judged on what he has achieved from the day he was named President, but rather from February 26, when the government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam won a vote of confidence in parliament.
Mr Aoun said “we are working quickly but not in haste”. The current government, largely comprising technocrat ministers tasked with salvaging the economy, has limited time to deliver as parliamentary elections are due next year.
Mr Aoun completes a short working visit to Abu Dhabi on Thursday, having met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed. It followed Mr Aoun's first foreign trip as President to Saudi Arabia last month and a visit to Qatar two weeks ago. He is keen to improve ties with Arab states after years of Hezbollah openly undermining those ties, including by training Houthi fighters in Yemen and fighting in Syria’s civil war.
Mr Aoun said he will not attend the coming Arab League Summit in Baghdad this month, as Mr Salam will represent Lebanon.
'We now have a point of contact in Syria'
Of all the Arab nations Mr Aoun is working to improve ties with, Syria is the most pressing.
Sharing a border of 394km and a strained history, Mr Aoun says bilateral ties on security, trade and border control are all being rebuilt.
He acknowledges that Syria’s President, Ahmad Al Shara, has daunting challenges ahead but appears optimistic that the current Syrian authorities are up to the task.
“We now have a point of contact in Syria, which was not the case before”, he said. Working through those contacts to formalise the border, tackle smuggling – especially the smuggling of arms and drugs – is a top priority.
UAE visas and travel rules
This was Mr Aoun’s first visit to the UAE, although he said his family comes to the Emirates often and enjoys it. With 90,000 Lebanese in the UAE – the number is closer to 200,000 if dual citizens are counted – Mr Aoun had a very specific request: to facilitate visas to the Emirates for Lebanese citizens.
Furthermore, Mr Aoun and his government are keen to see the UAE lift a ban on its citizens from flying to Lebanon. Most of the Gulf states have effectively prohibited their nationals from travel since 2023, and there have been on-and-off bans before that.
In his visit to Abu Dhabi, Mr Aoun had four specific requests. In addition to visas and lifting of the travel ban, he is seeking support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, which he says are “strained” as they are spread across the country and seeking to secure borders in a difficult time.
He is also seeking to reassure the business community and Emirati investors about investment in Lebanon. He said promises have been made for investments, “but after the needed economic reforms”.
As for gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, one of Lebanon's few natural resources, Mr Aoun has asked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim and French President Emmanuel Macron to restart work. Lebanon, heavily reliant on oil and gas imports, struck a deal to share a gas field with Israel in 2022 but the war has interrupted progress.
“Our maritime border with Israel was determined, there is no reason not to commence work,” he added.
