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Lebanon
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Youssef Raji stated that the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister took an extremely difficult decision, as Iran uses Hezbollah as an arm to drag Lebanon into a war it did not choose.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Youssef Raji wrote via his account on the "X" platform:
"I received the Special Envoy of Austria for Middle East Affairs, Ambassador Arad Benko, who welcomed the decision of the Lebanese state to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, affirming Austria's readiness to provide everything necessary to facilitate these negotiations and ensure their success.
He stressed Austria's firm standing alongside Lebanon, and his country's readiness to participate in any international force that might replace the UNIFIL force. He also indicated that the European Union intends to increase the value of its aid to Lebanon, conditional on achieving stability on its soil.
For my part, I welcomed Austria's supportive position for the negotiation path, and I explained that the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister took an extremely difficult decision, in light of Iran's use of 'Hezbollah' as an arm to drag Lebanon into a war it did not choose.
I expressed my hope that the negotiations would lead to a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territories, and I also informed him of the magnitude of the heavy losses caused by this harsh war on the human, material, economic, and social levels."
