Salam: The Support War Brought Calamity to Lebanon and Cost It 20 Billion Dollars

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Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam confirmed that the 'Support War' did not help Gaza but brought calamity to Lebanon, stressing that the government is proceeding with the goal of restricting weapons within the state and will not back down from achieving this objective.

In exclusive statements to Al Arabiya, Salam stated that Hezbollah's weapons have not succeeded in deterring Israel or protecting its leaders and cadres, while the Support Wars have cost Lebanon more than 20 billion dollars, affirming that the diplomatic option is the fastest and least costly for the country.

In his assessment of Hezbollah's weaponry, Salam said that the weapon 'has neither deterred nor protected for 26 years', considering that it has failed to protect the party's leaders and cadres, nor has it succeeded in preventing the Israeli occupation, but rather, according to his statement, it has caused the occupation of 70 villages, while confirming that the government's goal is to restrict weapons within state institutions and that it 'will not back down' from achieving this goal.

On the other hand, Salam linked this path to what was stipulated in the Taif Agreement, emphasizing that the agreement called for the authority of the state to be established over all Lebanese territories, which places the restriction of weapons within the framework of restoring the authority of the state and its institutions.

In this context, the Lebanese Prime Minister stressed that the country's administration is moving forward to achieve its goal, alongside its efforts to end the Israeli occupation through diplomatic and political means.

Regarding the occupation, the Lebanese Prime Minister confirmed that Lebanon 'is mobilizing all its diplomatic and political energies' to end it, considering that the diplomatic option is 'the fastest and least costly for Lebanon'.

At the same time, Salam stated that Lebanon still needs an international presence in the south to monitor the situation and report, explaining that what is needed is an agreement on a new international force under UN sponsorship.

On the humanitarian level, Salam said that Lebanon is seeking to transition from managing displacement to recovery and reconstruction, after the available resources were less than the requirements to respond to the displacement crisis.

He clarified that thousands of displaced people chose not to go to shelters, stressing that 'our primary concern was not to leave any person in the open', referring to the challenges faced in responding to the crisis.

Speaking about the repercussions of the war, Salam stated that Lebanon has repeatedly called for reason and not to be dragged into a war 'that we have no connection to', noting that the Support Wars have cost the country more than 20 billion dollars.

This comes as he emphasizes that the priority for Lebanon is to avoid additional costs of war and to rely on the diplomatic path to end the occupation, while continuing to work on restoring the authority of the state and restricting weapons.

In the context of diplomatic movements, Nawaf Salam revealed to Al Arabiya that he will meet with the U.S. Secretary of State on Monday, without providing further details about the meeting or the topics that will be discussed.