Lebanon reaffirms state control over arms and war decisions, says PM Nawaf Salam

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has affirmed that Lebanon has made its choice to ensure that all weapons remain under state control, stressing that decisions of war and peace cannot be made outside the country’s constitutional institutions. He also reiterated Lebanon’s commitment to negotiations aimed at ending the occupation and consolidating the state’s exclusive authority over arms.

Speaking to the press from the United States, Salam said Lebanon rejects any decisions regarding war and peace that are made outside its constitutional framework, emphasizing that diplomacy and reform are the path to restoring sovereignty and stability. These remarks are consistent with his previous statements underscoring that only the Lebanese state should have authority over arms and decisions of war and peace.

The prime minister explained that Lebanon has chosen negotiations as the means to achieve the withdrawal of occupying forces and to reinforce exclusive state control over weapons, in line with his government’s approach to restoring Lebanese sovereignty.

Salam also warned against reducing the tripartite framework to a mere mechanism for managing the conflict, stressing the need for this framework to lead to real change rather than simply maintaining the current dispute.