Aoun during joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart: The army alone is responsible for extending sovereignty
11/10/2025 3:24:00 PM
President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, held a joint press conference with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, at the Bulgarian Presidential Palace in Sofia following their bilateral talks, during which they discussed the regional situation after the Gaza agreement.
During the press conference, President Aoun said: "Our army's mission is crucial in these circumstances, because it alone, and I reiterate, alone, without any partner, neither from outside the state nor from outside Lebanon, must extend the authority of our state over all of its territories and borders, and impose its full sovereignty, where the Israeli attacks on our land cease, and Israel withdraws from the points it still occupies inside Lebanon. This should be accompanied by a negotiations course, which we consider as the only way to achieve our national goals and the supreme interest of Lebanon, exactly as Lebanon has previously negotiated more than ten times, with the unanimous agreement of all its current political forces without exception, the last of which was between 2020 and 2022, to accomplish the maritime demarcation between Lebanon and Israel, and last November to cease the attacks and restrict all weapons to the hands of the Lebanese state."
President Aoun added: "We support the Gaza agreement and commend its sponsors. We call upon them, first, to ensure its full implementation, and then to expand its scope to include other unresolved crises, so that these efforts may culminate in a comprehensive peace in our region, in accordance with the international legitimacy resolutions, the principle of the two-state solution, and their right to existence, borders, security, and safety."
Aoun went on to say: "We have instructed the foreign ministers of Lebanon and Bulgaria to prepare a memorandum of understanding between our two countries, which reflects the depth of our bilateral relations and aligns with our visions on common issues."
President Aoun also affirmed "the importance of judicial and criminal cooperation between Lebanon and Bulgaria, particularly in the case of the Beirut port explosion, which we consider a national issue, and we will not back down from our determination to uncover its circumstances and reveal the truth."
Aoun said: "In this framework, as we are keen to ensure that national and international justice takes its course according to established procedures, I can only highly appreciate the positive cooperation shown by the competent Bulgarian authorities in this regard."
During the press conference, President Aoun said: "Our army's mission is crucial in these circumstances, because it alone, and I reiterate, alone, without any partner, neither from outside the state nor from outside Lebanon, must extend the authority of our state over all of its territories and borders, and impose its full sovereignty, where the Israeli attacks on our land cease, and Israel withdraws from the points it still occupies inside Lebanon. This should be accompanied by a negotiations course, which we consider as the only way to achieve our national goals and the supreme interest of Lebanon, exactly as Lebanon has previously negotiated more than ten times, with the unanimous agreement of all its current political forces without exception, the last of which was between 2020 and 2022, to accomplish the maritime demarcation between Lebanon and Israel, and last November to cease the attacks and restrict all weapons to the hands of the Lebanese state."
President Aoun added: "We support the Gaza agreement and commend its sponsors. We call upon them, first, to ensure its full implementation, and then to expand its scope to include other unresolved crises, so that these efforts may culminate in a comprehensive peace in our region, in accordance with the international legitimacy resolutions, the principle of the two-state solution, and their right to existence, borders, security, and safety."
Aoun went on to say: "We have instructed the foreign ministers of Lebanon and Bulgaria to prepare a memorandum of understanding between our two countries, which reflects the depth of our bilateral relations and aligns with our visions on common issues."
President Aoun also affirmed "the importance of judicial and criminal cooperation between Lebanon and Bulgaria, particularly in the case of the Beirut port explosion, which we consider a national issue, and we will not back down from our determination to uncover its circumstances and reveal the truth."
Aoun said: "In this framework, as we are keen to ensure that national and international justice takes its course according to established procedures, I can only highly appreciate the positive cooperation shown by the competent Bulgarian authorities in this regard."