Pushing back against political opposition, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended the nation's newly established structural blueprint with Israel on Wednesday, asserting that peaceful statecraft is the sole pragmatic path to avoid armed combat and dismissed allegations that the initiative compromises domestic self-governance.
"Between the choices of war or negotiations, let us choose negotiations because we have already tried wars and they achieved no results," Aoun declared, as quoted by the Xinhua news agency.
He stressed that the arrangement provides a diplomatic scaffolding for upcoming talks intended to compel an Israeli military pullout from sovereign Lebanese land, facilitate the repatriation of displaced citizens, and gather international support.
Characterizing the accord as "the best possible option" given the current geopolitical landscape, Aoun openly dared detractors to offer a viable substitute, noting that decades of military clashes had failed to settle Beirut's long-standing grievances with Israel.
Brokered under the auspices of American intermediaries and formally finalized in Washington this past Friday, the diplomatic understanding looks to foster a durable cross-border security structure and prepare the path for an expansive regional peace initiative.
The agreement has come under fire from opponents of Aoun, and particularly the Hezbollah terrorist organization which has a strong political presence in Lebanon in addition to its armed terrorist wing.
Hezbollah has refused to disarm, as stipulated in the agreement, and declared that "Without Hezbollah, nothing will pass."
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem strongly condemned the framework agreement, describing it as a "humiliating and disgraceful" deal that, he claimed, amounts to a surrender of Lebanon's sovereignty.
"Where is the government's responsibility for Lebanese sovereignty and its commitment to the ceasefire?" Qassem demanded, adding that the agreement "has no right to exist."
Despite agreeing to hold talks with Israel, Aoun has rejected the idea of a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as suggested by US President Donald Trump.
Aoun has made clear that a high-level summit with Netanyahu is currently out of the question, stressing that the cessation of hostilities must be the primary focus before any direct political engagement can be considered.