Aoun: Decision of arms monopoly has been taken and won't be reversed

President Joseph Aoun said Friday that the decision of monopolizing arms has been taken and won't be reversed, praising Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for his efforts.

Aoun said he appreciated Berri's role in "promoting stability, supporting state rebuilding initiatives, and upholding the principle of state authority, including the monopoly on arms."

Hezbollah says it has ended its armed presence near the border with Israel, but is refusing to disarm in the rest of Lebanon before Israel withdraws from five overlooking border points and ends its almost daily airstrikes on Lebanon.

Earlier this week, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, saying he was satisfied with the Lebanese government's response to a proposal to disarm Hezbollah.

"The decisions of war and peace fall under Cabinet's jurisdiction," Aoun said, urging for unity. He added that Lebanon currently wants peace and not normalization with Israel.

"Peace is the state of no war and this is what is important for us in Lebanon at the present time," Aoun was quoted as telling visitors on Friday. He added that "the matter of normalization (with Israel) is not included in Lebanon’s current foreign policy."

The United States has been calling on Lebanon to fully disarm Hezbollah, and Lebanese authorities sent their response to Washington's demand this week.

The response was not made public, but Aoun stated that Beirut was determined to "hold the monopoly over weapons in the country".

The implementation of this move "will take into account the interest of the state and its security stability to preserve civil peace on one hand, and national unity on the other", hinting that Hezbollah's disarmament will not be done through force.

Hezbollah, a powerful political force in Lebanon, is the only non-state actor to have officially retained its weaponry after the end of Lebanon's 15-year civil war in 1990, as parts of southern Lebanon were still under Israeli occupation at the time.

The Lebanese group was heavily weakened following its year-long hostilities with Israel, which escalated into a two-month war in September.