​President Aoun: “Current regional and international situations require working quickly, more than any time, to achieve Arab solidarity and to urgently address the file of the displaced Syrians, especially since the fighting has stopped in the majority of Syrian regions”.

Aboul Gheith: “I felt the President’s determination to hold the elections on time and to move Lebanon towards achieving stability and restoring normal conditions”.

Aboul Gheith expressed readiness to send a delegation to observe the elections

President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, emphasized that “Current regional and international situations and the turmoil suffered by many countries make it imperative more than ever to work quickly to achieve solidarity among the Arab countries to be able to face the repercussions of what is happening, with a single stance that protects the interests of their peoples”.

The President met Arab League Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheith, today at Baabda Palace.

President Aoun informed Aboul Gheith that “Parliamentary elections will be held on time on May 15”, and welcomed any follow-up from the League of Arab States for these elections.

In addition, the President pointed out that the file of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is still weighing on the general Lebanese situation, which requires urgent treatment, especially since the fighting has stopped in most Syrian regions.

Aboul Gheith had expressed his happiness for his presence in Lebanon, and deliberated with President Aoun the Arab and Lebanese situations in addition to recent regional developments, especially the situation between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and the on-going preparations for holding the Arab Summit in Algeria next November.

The delegation accompanying Aboul Gheith included: Deputy Secretary-General, Ambassador Hussam Zaki, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Arab Center for Legal and Judicial Research, Ambassador Abdel Rahman Al-Solh, Director of the Arab Orient Department, Mrs. Lama Qassem, Adviser, Mr. Jamal Rushdi, and Counselor Youssef Al-Sabawi.

In addition, former Minister Salim Jreissati, Director General of the Presidency of the Republic, Dr. Antoine Choucair, and advisors Rafic Chelala, Antoine Constantine and Osama Khashab also attended the meeting.

Statement:

After the meeting, the Arab League Secretary-General made the following statement:

“I was honored to meet His Excellency President Michel Aoun today and I was reassured about his health and the situation in Lebanon.

I felt determination to hold parliamentary elections on time, and launch Lebanon towards more stability and restore the Lebanese situation during the coming period.

I also listened to His Excellency’s assessment of the international situation and its effects on the Arab region, especially that Lebanon is currently in the presidency of the Arab Ministerial Council for a period of 6 months.

I informed President Aoun of the confirmation of the upcoming consultative ministerial meeting in Beirut in the middle of this year. In general, the meeting was very good, and I found a lot of determination by President Aoun to take Lebanon on the path of elections achieve stability and restore normal conditions”.

Questions & Answers:

Question: Did you discuss the supposed date of the next Arab summit?

Answer: “We talked about this issue, and I told the President that Algeria informed all Arab countries that the summit would be held on the first and second of next November in Algeria, and His Excellency welcomed this decision”.

Question: Did you tackle the issue of Syrian refugees?

Answer: “Yes, we discussed this issue. In fact, when one sees what Lebanon has been subjected to over 10 years or more, the tax it has paid, and the conditions that this hospitable country has suffered due to the presence of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Syrian refugees, and does not receive support from the world, at a time when we are witnessing the situation in Ukraine and the European and international donation to help Ukrainian refugees. Therefore, this requires one to question these double standards. The Ukrainian crisis exists, but the world should not forget the pressing conditions in Lebanon as a result of the presence of Arab refugees on its lands, and it has hosted them for many years without any support. This is a point that we should not miss, and that we should raise all the time, especially in light of the current situation”.

Question: Will you send a team to monitor the parliamentary elections?

Answer: “We raised this point with His Excellency the President, and I expressed the League’s constant readiness to send a team, and we have already taken this step in Algeria, Iraq, Palestine and many regions, and I think we will implement this matter”.

Question: What about the Kuwaiti initiative?

Answer: “I informed the President of my reactions, which I cannot talk about publicly, as I informed him as a result of the contacts that we had in this context”.​