Lebanese PM responds to US envoy's remarks, reaffirms commitment to ministerial statement

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam pushed back against recent comments by U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack, expressing surprise at statements questioning the government’s seriousness and the army’s role.

“I am astonished by Ambassador Thomas Barrack’s recent remarks casting doubt on the government’s credibility and the army’s performance,” Salam said in a statement. “The government remains fully committed to implementing its ministerial statement, particularly the reforms it pledged, asserting state authority over all Lebanese territory by its own means, and ensuring that arms are solely under state control, as reflected in cabinet decisions.”

Salam voiced full confidence in the Lebanese army’s ability to protect the country’s sovereignty and maintain stability, noting that it is carrying out its national duties, including the plan it presented to the cabinet on September 5. 

He called on the international community to increase support for the Lebanese army and to pressure Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and halt repeated violations in accordance with the November 2024 cease-fire declaration.

PM Salam reaffirmed Lebanon’s belief in the possibility of achieving a lasting peace in the region based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which he said rests on principles of justice, international law, and United Nations resolutions, and calls for enabling the Palestinian people to exercise self-determination and establish an independent state.