Lebanon's president sees opportunity to negotiate with Israel

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun suggested Monday that Lebanon could consider negotiations with Israel, citing the shifting regional climate toward dialogue and compromise in the region.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) quoted Aoun as saying to a visiting group of economic journalists that "things are moving toward negotiations to establish peace and stability, and they are yielding results," adding that "solutions can be reached through dialogue and negotiation."

But the president called on Israel to commit to halting military operations against Lebanon so that a negotiation process could begin, emphasizing that "this process we see in the region must not be challenged."

"We cannot be outside the current path in the region, which is the path of crisis resolution," he said. "We can no longer tolerate more war, destruction, killing and displacement."

Aoun recalled that Lebanon had previously negotiated indirectly with Israel under US and UN auspices in 2022, resulting in the maritime border demarcation agreement announced from the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura.

"What prevents the same thing from happening again to find solutions to the outstanding issues?" he asked, adding that even Israel "resorted to negotiating with Hamas after realizing that war and destruction brought no results."

Lebanon and Israel are technically in a state of war.