Salam says no turning back on arms monopoly decision

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said there will be no turning back on the state's decision to be the sole bearer of arms, as pressure increases from Washington and domestically to disarm Hezbollah.

In an interview, published Thursday in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Salam said that it is natural for the state's monopoly on arms to be discussed in the next cabinet session, in implementation of the Taif Agreement and the ceasefire agreement reached in late November with Israel. He said U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's paper provided practical ideas for this.

President Joseph Aoun also called Thursday for Hezbollah to give up its weapons, a day after the group’s chief doubled down on its refusal to disarm.

He said the U.S. presented Lebanon with "draft ideas to which we have made fundamental amendments that will be presented to the Cabinet early next week."

Under the Lebanese proposal, there would be an "immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities" in Lebanon, including airstrikes and targeted killing, a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, Aoun said.

Lebanon, for its part, would implement the "withdrawal of the weapons of all armed forces, including Hezbollah, and their surrender to the Lebanese Army."

Salam denied any disagreements between the Lebanese officials regarding the state's monopoly on arms and said he is in "full and continuous consultations" with Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

He added that disarming Hezbollah and other armed groups is "not a provocation to anyone but a fundamental part of the President's inaugural speech and the government's ministerial statement." Hezbollah and ally Amal MPs gave twice their confidence to Salam's government and backed President Aoun in a second round of voting last January.