Asia

Home page

Asia

Ceasefire with Israel ‘entry point’ to negotiations, says Lebanon’s president

16 April 2026 15:00 (UTC +04:00)

The ceasefire that Lebanon is “demanding with Israel” will serve as a “natural entry point for direct negotiations between the two countries,” said Lebanese President Joseph Khalil Aoun during a meeting with Britain’s Minister of State for Middle East Affairs, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement shared on social media, Aoun said that Lebanon was "keen to halt the escalation in the south and in all Lebanese regions so that the targeting of the innocent and the secure – women, men, and children – ceases, and the destruction of homes in Lebanese villages and towns stops."

Aoun also said that negotiations between Israel and Lebanon “are to be undertaken by the Lebanese authorities alone” in order to respect the country’s sovereignty.

He added that “the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territories is an essential step to consolidate the ceasefire” and that the country’s army must be redeployed “up to the international borders” to “end any manifestation of armed presence”.