Salam: Disarming Militias is a Lebanese Need Not Just a Foreign Demand

Asharq Al-Awsat

a day ago

A much-anticipated meeting between Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam ended without a decisive outcome on a response to a set of US proposals, one of which reportedly includes a demand for Hezbollah to disarm.
However, Salam described the talks as 'positive,' signaling continued dialogue with Berri once he receives the group's official position.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat by phone, Salam said the pair discussed the ideas put forward by US presidential envoy Tom Perriello.
Salam stressed the importance of implementing understandings brokered by the United States and France last November to halt hostilities along the southern border.
'This requires Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory and to cease its aggression that threatens stability. In parallel, the Lebanese state must fulfill its duty and assert its sovereign authority across all its land. That includes the exclusive right to bear arms and to decide on matters of war and peace,' he said.
He argued that the measures should not be subject to debate over sequencing. 'All of them should be implemented as swiftly as possible.'
Salam said Lebanon needs a 'mechanism' to execute these commitments and that once it becomes clearer through ongoing contacts, it will be presented to the cabinet for approval. 'Only the Council of Ministers can take such a decision,' he said.
He confirmed that he would meet Berri again soon and remains in constant communication with the president to reach the necessary consensus. Berri, he noted, is also awaiting Hezbollah's feedback on key aspects of the US paper.
'We are engaging constructively with the American ideas,' Salam added. 'They're not scripture — we will debate them with the envoy in hopes of reaching the desired outcomes.'
He underscored that issues of sovereignty and the state's monopoly over arms are 'urgent Lebanese needs before being foreign demands. Lebanon deserves to be a normal state — one governed by peace, stability, and the rule of law, where the state alone defends its citizens and makes national decisions.'
Salam briefed Berri on his recent trip to Qatar and developments related to a US proposal aimed at de-escalating cross-border tensions, during talks that also addressed mounting Israeli violations in the south, including an airstrike on Nabatieh.
In a statement following the meeting, the Speaker's office said the two leaders reviewed political and security developments in Lebanon and the wider region, particularly in light of Israel's continued breaches of the ceasefire agreement.
Salam's visit came amid growing momentum for a possible cabinet session to finalize a framework that would enshrine the state's exclusive control over weapons. The meeting followed a working session held Friday at the presidential palace between President Joseph Aoun and Salam to advance discussions on the US-backed proposal.
If Berri, Aoun, and Salam reach consensus on the draft, the document is expected to be presented to the cabinet for approval.
It reportedly consists of three main pillars: the issue of Hezbollah's arms and all non-state weapons, a package of structural reforms, and the future of Lebanese-Syrian relations. Once approved, the paper would be relayed to the US envoy to deliver to both Israel and Syria.
In what appeared to be a message of political de-escalation, Hezbollah sent conciliatory signals to the Lebanese state over the weekend.
Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, head of the group's religious authority, urged the government to fulfill its commitments to 'liberate every inch of land, rebuild, and stand by its people.'
'Our hand is extended,' Yazbek said. 'We want to live as one, and for Lebanon to serve as a model of coexistence among its diverse communities.'
He insisted Hezbollah acts 'with awareness and wisdom' and does not rush into decisions. 'Despite all the hostile media and distortion campaigns, our call remains one for national and human unity under God.'
Yazbek also warned that Israel 'has no security and no peace,' adding, 'We haven't slept, and we will not sleep.'
Meanwhile, MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, head of the Baalbek-Hermel parliamentary bloc, called on the Lebanese state to intensify its stance against what he described as Israel's blatant aggression.
'The government must push harder, and urge the international sponsors and the Quintet Committee to step up their roles. But we believe the American side is neither neutral nor impartial — it is complicit in the aggression,' he said.
Hajj Hassan described the Israeli airstrikes on Nabatieh and other areas as 'an attack on all of Lebanon, not just a specific faction or region,' aimed at pressuring the country and its resistance forces.