President General Joseph Aoun renewed his thanks to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for all the efforts he is exerting to support Lebanon in achieving its demands to remove the occupation and Israeli aggressions on its land, and called on him to continue his support for these demands, foremost among which is obligating Israel to implement the provisions of the framework formula, and the immediate cessation of its aggressions on the villages and infrastructure in the south and on civilians, and its withdrawal from the areas it occupies.
President Aoun’s remarks came during his meeting this afternoon with His Holiness the Pope, followed by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Vatican Foreign Minister Monsignor Richard Gallagher, at the conclusion of his visit to the Vatican.
The President of the Republic had arrived at 9:30 a.m. to St. Damasus Square in the Vatican, where he was received by the Head of Ceremonies of the Vatican State, Monsignor Xavier Fernández González, who accompanied him, along with the Pontifical Guard, to the office of His Holiness the Pope, where he held a private meeting with him for half an hour, followed by President Aoun’s meeting with the Vatican Secretary of State and the Vatican Foreign Minister, during which he briefed them on the latest developments on the Lebanese scene, and the repeated Israeli aggressions on Lebanese villages, infrastructure, and civilians.
During the two meetings, President Aoun extended Lebanon’s thanks to the Holy See for all the efforts it is making to support it since the last visit of the Supreme Pontiff to Lebanon. He then outlined the political, economic, and vital developments that Lebanon has witnessed in the recent period.
President Aoun called on His Holiness the Pope and the officials in the Vatican to continue their diplomatic efforts in all international forums to achieve the Lebanese demands, foremost among which is obligating Israel to implement the provisions of the framework formula, which was signed under the auspices of the United States of America on June 26 of last year, and halting its daily aggressions that particularly target civilians, civilian facilities, infrastructure, and villages in the south.
President Aoun also called on the Holy Father and the Apostolic See to support Lebanon in achieving the complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories, paving the way for the reconstruction of what Israel has destroyed, and the return of the displaced to their land and villages.
The President of the Republic affirmed that these steps must coincide with the extension of the Lebanese state’s authority over all its territories and the monopoly of the decision of war and peace in its hands, as the sole path to achieving security and stability on the borders.
President Aoun had presented the Holy Father with a bust of the Blessed Patriarch Elias al-Huwayyik, which includes relics of the Blessed.
: Lebanese Presidency