Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi Monday met with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun for talks about the ending Israeli war on Lebanon.

According to a press statement following the meetings, Safadi urged an end to the Israeli war and expressed Jordan’s “absolute solidarity” with Lebanon.

Safadi said, “I am making this visit to Lebanon under the direction of His Majesty King Abdullah II, as a message of absolute solidarity with Lebanon in the face of the Israeli aggression and all its consequences and humanitarian crisis.

“I made this visit to affirm Jordan’s historic and lasting position in supporting Lebanon, its security, sovereignty and the safety of its citizens in full and the Kingdom’s readiness to provide all the assistance it can to Lebanon to confront the consequences of this brutal aggression.”

He said the Israeli war on Lebanon is a “clear violation of international law, a violatio
n of Lebanon’s sovereignty and an insistence on the Israeli aggression that we have seen begin and continue in Gaza and has now moved to Lebanon and is pushing the entire region into the abyss of a comprehensive regional war.”

He said that His Majesty King Abdullah II confirmed to Miqati that Jordan is working with the international community to stop the Israeli war and deliver the assistance that Lebanon needs.

He noted Jordan’s support efforts to empower Lebanese institutions and hold presidential elections to strengthen Lebanon’s position at the international level.

He said, “We are facing a catastrophe and a dangerous escalation that threatens the security of the entire region and threatens regional and international security and peace, and the efforts of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan are continuing with everyone to stop this aggression.”

Safadi called for an end to the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and the implementation of international law on Israel, expressing Jordan’s support for UN Security Co
uncil Resolution 1701.

Safadi added that Jordan “would not be a battlefield for anyone,” and would not allow anyone to violate its airspace and sovereignty and threaten the security of its citizens, saying, “Protecting our citizens and protecting Jordan is a priority for us.

“We have conveyed this message clearly to Iran and Israel. We have informed everyone that we will not allow our airspace to be violated and the security of our citizens to be threatened [for Jordan] to be turned into a battlefield. We will do everything we can to prevent this from happening.”

Safadi referred to the clear position of the Arab countries in rejecting the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, condemning it and warning of its consequences.

He said the only way to ensure regional security and stability was to fulfil the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination in their independent, sovereign state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.

He accused the world of failing to ensure regi
onal security and peace, curb Israeli aggression and implement international law and the UN Charter, adding that such failure “will have consequences for many years to come, especially since it has struck the credibility of international law and reinforced the conviction that international law is applied selectively.”

He added, “We are continuing this effort, but Israel is the one that bears responsibility for this aggression, the escalation in the region and the responsibility for any new escalation that would inevitably push the region towards the abyss of a regional war from which no one will benefit.”

Safadi criticised Israeli intransigence and reliance on war and aggression as a means to achieve goals “to protect the interests of the current Israeli Prime Minister who has defied international law, the resolutions of the Security Council, the General Assembly, the International Court of Justice and the positions of countries allied with Israel.”

He noted the initiative announced by US President Joe Bid
en and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to which there would be a ceasefire for 21 days, during which the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 would be discussed, accusing the Israelis of escalation.

On Jordan’s position on the Israeli aggression on Gaza and Lebanon, Safadi reiterated Jordan’s rejection of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon, adding, “We all condemn and reject this aggression, and there is absolute agreement and awareness that Jordan is doing everything it can to stop it. The anger in the Jordanian street reflects a comprehensive anger in Jordan, whether in the official state institutions or the Jordanian popular position.”

He referred to the speech of His Majesty King Abdullah II at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, where His Majesty the King spoke in clear and explicit language that this aggression must stop because it threatens the security of the entire region.

“Jordan will not allow anyone to threaten its s
ecurity and stability,” adding that there is a national consensus in Jordan on rejecting and condemning the Israeli aggression, supporting the Palestinian people, supporting Lebanon and rejecting Israeli aggression.

Safadi concluded the press conference by stressing that the Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati was clear that Lebanon is ready to implement Resolution 1701 in its entirety and deploy the Lebanese army in the south, which would prevent any Israeli pretext for continuing its aggression.

He said, “If Israel wants security and stability, it knows the way to do so, which is to stop its aggression, abide by international law and respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and, of course, stop its aggression against Gaza and the West Bank.

“We support Lebanon’s security, sovereignty, independence and stability. We support the Lebanese national decision regarding approaching its internal affairs.”

Source: Jordan News Agency