Challenges and hopes in light of the presidency of Joseph Aoun

Edmun Rabat wrote in “Major General”: The historical summit between the President of the Lebanese Republic, Joseph Aoun, and the interim Syrian president, Ahmed Al -Sharaa, in Cairo on the fourth of March 2025, restored the hope of achieving a real peace between Lebanon and Syria. After decades of the Syrian occupation that was characterized by violence and looting, but this peace is still fragile in light of the continued Iranian influence, which, although it is in retreat, is still a threat, and the presence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, unless it merges in the Lebanese constitutional framework, remains a real obstacle to the stability of the country. Peace between Lebanon and Israel remains an open question. If this peace is imposed by external powers, it may be similar to the truce that Trump is trying to impose in Ukraine: a truce rather than reconciliation. In order for this peace to be sustainable, the Lebanese people must decide themselves freely, after the external influences are removed, the country is liberated from armed militias, the Israeli occupation withdraws, and a Palestinian state will be established. It is the freedom to choose destiny that distinguishes between submissive peace and authentic peace. Peace: Building patient or just a strong balance?

Sustainable peace can only be based on fair institutions and a sincere will for peoples in common live.