President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, during his meeting with five French deputies from the Study Group on Christians of the East:
– Lebanon is a message of freedom and pluralism in the region and the world, and it cannot live without its Christian and Muslim wings. If it loses its Christian wing, extremism is the alternative, and it will spread to Europe. And if it loses its Muslim wing for any reason, moderation will be lost.
– Christians in Lebanon are keen to preserve Christian-Muslim coexistence, and through their practices, they affirm the importance of the role they play in countries of the East and West.
– There is no threat to the Christian presence in Lebanon, and what happened in a number of neighboring countries cannot be repeated there. For Christians, together with their Muslim brothers, form a unique model.
– Islamic-Christian coexistence in Lebanon is not merely a political formula imposed by circumstances, but a national and civilizational choice and a human experience that has proven that diversity can be a source of strength, and that difference does not contradict unity, but rather enriches and reinforces it. This coexistence is based on full partnership in building the state, safeguarding its institutions, and determining the future of the homeland.
– Lebanon’s true strength lies in its ability to protect this model and develop it, and to entrench trust among its sons away from the logic of dominance and exclusion, thereby ensuring respect for the particularity of each component within the framework of a single, just, and strong state.
– Unity between Christians and Muslims is an essential condition for protecting Lebanon and its stability, and a safety valve in the face of sedition.
– The experiences that Lebanon and the region have gone through have proven that internal divisions only produce weakness, and that exploiting religion and sect to achieve political goals or justify violence does not threaten a specific community, but rather threatens entire societies.
– Protecting common living in Lebanon is not solely a Lebanese responsibility, but a responsibility connected to the future of the region, because the success of the Islamic-Christian partnership experience strengthens opportunities for moderation and provides practical evidence of the possibility of building societies that respect pluralism and protect human dignity and rights.
– Lebanon is committed to the continued presence of UNIFIL forces in the south, or to replacing them with European forces that would serve as a nucleus for forces from friendly countries wishing to help Lebanon and contribute to achieving security and stability in the south.
– There are no safe and sustainable solutions through war, but through diplomatic negotiation, because wars cannot achieve any practical result; rather, they destroy, displace, leave behind dead and wounded, and do not end conflicts. Only diplomatic negotiation can achieve security for countries and peoples.
– The state is vigilant over the safety of the sons of the resilient southern border villages in their homes and properties, and works with humanitarian organizations, UNIFIL, and the Lebanese army to secure all elements of health, educational, and nutritional resilience for them, until the Israeli occupation ends.
: Lebanese Presidency