Beirut: United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ant³nio Guterres, held a press conference on Saturday following his encounter with President of the Republic Joseph Aoun: “In this meeting with the President of the Republic, I had the opportunity to express our solidarity with the people of Lebanon that have suffered so much and our total support to the President, to the future government, knowing that now it will be possible to consolidate the Lebanese institutions, and it will be possible to create the conditions for the Lebanese State to fully protect its citizens, and it will be possible with the withdrawal of the Israeli forces and with the presence of the Lebanese army in the whole of the Lebanese territory, it will be possible to open a new chapter of peace.”

According to National News Agency – Lebanon, Guterres emphasized the resilience of the Lebanese people and expressed confidence in their ability to rebound once the conflict is resolved. He remarked, “I know that the Lebanese are extremely dynamic, extremely resilient and extremely courageous. And I know that as soon as a conflict ends, reconstruction begins.”

Guterres concluded his statements with a commitment to rally international support for Lebanon’s recovery efforts. He stated, “I want to express our total support and our will to mobilize, to fully mobilize, the international community in order to provide Lebanon with all the support for what we believe it will be a speedy recovery of this country, making it again the center of the Middle East.”