Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which the general situation prevailing in Lebanon and the region was discussed in light of recent developments.
During the telephone conversation, reference was also made to the situation prevailing in southern Lebanon, in view of Israel’s continuing attacks on villages and towns in that region.
President Aoun asked for pressure to be exerted on Israel to stop those attacks, to abide by the terms of the framework agreement, to stop demolition operations and to allow villagers to enter their fields without being subjected to attacks.
President Aoun assured that the army and the security forces are fully carrying out their duties in implementing decisions concerning the confiscation of weapons and ammunition, as well as the fight against smuggling. He added that the judicial bodies are following up on all cases referred to them, and that there will be no leniency toward those found guilty. The law will be applied without any bias.
During the telephone conversation, Rubio called for the establishment of a direct military link between Lebanese and Israeli forces “for the cessation of the conflict”. Secretary of State Rubio touched upon the issue of the confiscation of hundreds of kilograms of explosive materials from “Hezbollah”.
He called on Aoun to hold accountable those who ordered, financed and directed the transportation of that cargo, and also “stressed that returning the explosive materials to ‘Hezbollah’ is absolutely impermissible”.
Recall that one of the members of “Hezbollah” had earlier stated that the explosive materials confiscated last week by the Lebanese security forces belonged to the group.
