President Aoun: Parliamentary elections will be held on time; Army doing a tremendous job in the south

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed that parliamentary elections will take place as scheduled, stressing that any call for dialogue before the vote would be “a dialogue of the deaf.”

Speaking before a delegation from the Editors Syndicate, President Aoun said there is firm determination from himself, Speaker Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to hold the elections on time.

He dismissed talk of “handing Lebanon over to Syria” as unjustified and unnecessary, emphasizing that depositors’ rights are a red line that will not be compromised.

President Aoun also said Lebanon is awaiting Israel’s response—through the United States—to the option of negotiations aimed at reclaiming Lebanese territory. “The logic of force is no longer useful; we must move toward the force of logic,” he noted.

Commenting on the situation in the south, Aoun stressed that “Hezbollah does not operate south of the Litani River,” adding that the Lebanese army is “carrying out a tremendous mission in the south and across all Lebanese regions.”