By panorama.am  Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and President of Lebanon Michel Aoun, who is in Armenia on an official visited, issued a jointed statement summing up the results of their talks held on Thursday. In his speech, the Lebanese leader assessed the talks with President Sargsyan as positive and constructive, the presidential press office said. “We touched upon the recent developments in bilateral relations, the ongoing efforts and the tangible progress achieved so far. Our meeting went off in a warm atmosphere of friendship, which reflects the strong human ties that bind us together, the specific relationship between the Armenian and Lebanese peoples, and the availability of numerous Lebanese citizens with Armenian roots. Many of them are with me today, including Lebanese government ministers and MPs. I called President Sargsyan’s attention to the fact that the Lebanese Armenians are held in deep respect in our society for their vitality, culture, civilization, social and political influence on our country’s political and economic life,” he said. Michel Aoun noted he also discussed the situation in the Middle East, the ongoing crises and wars in the region, especially in neighboring Syria with the Armenian leader. “We agreed on the need to find lasting solutions to these crises and stop the war machine, as violence cannot but trigger violence and extremism as evidenced by the last seven years’ agitations and turbulences in our region.

I presented to President Sargsyan the challenges facing Lebanon due to the Syrian war. In particular, I called attention to the penetration of terrorist threats into our country, the region as a whole, and other countries of the world. Here, I assured him that Lebanon has successfully defied these challenges by destroying the terrorist cells and establishing peace and stability in the country. We agreed on the need to abide by the culture of progress, respect for the rights of individuals and nations on the way to building bilateral and international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, since no country is safe from its implications,” he said. According to the Lebanese president, they talked about the problem of Syrian immigrants, which is more complicated in the neighboring countries, especially in Lebanon. “I told my counterpart that our country has been subjected to economic, social, and security pressures resulting in more than one and a half million immigrants along with insufficient international assistance to meet their needs. In this connection, we emphasized that it is necessary to work toward achieving an international consensus that will ensure the return of Syrian refugees to their country under the control of the Syrian government. I expressed gratitude to President Sargsyan for standing by Lebanon in the international arena, and assured him in turn that Lebanon will support Armenia in protecting its people’s legitimate rights, sovereignty, peace and prosperity,” Mr Michel Aoun said.

He informed the meeting also addressed the Israeli threats to Lebanon, which affect our oil entitlements within the exclusive economic zone, the construction of a dividing wall that goes as far as the disputed points near our southern border. “I confirmed that Lebanon has been able to safeguard its inland and maritime borders through all legal means. In this matter, we rely on our friends from the international family and look forward to having their backing in countering these threats and de-escalating the situation. I also thanked the President for the invitation to attend the Francophone Summit to be held in Yerevan this October. I promised to respond to the invitation, wishing the Summit successful proceedings,” the Lebanese president concluded.