Lebanese president reaffirms commitment to reforms, urges U.S. pressure on Israel to withdraw

BEIRUT, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed his country's commitment to comprehensive reforms on Tuesday during a meeting with a visiting delegation led by retired U.S. General Joseph Votel.

"Lebanon is moving forward with economic, financial, and administrative reforms," Aoun told the delegation from the Middle East Institute, a non-profit and non-partisan think tank and cultural center based in Washington, according to a statement released by the Lebanese presidency.

Aoun hailed the recent meetings in Washington between a Lebanese delegation and representatives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as "positive," expressing hope that these discussions would yield constructive outcomes beneficial to the country's struggling economy.

During the meeting with the U.S. delegation, Aoun highlighted efforts against corruption and challenges in hosting Syrian refugees. He also called for lifting economic sanctions on Syria to help revive its economy and create conditions for Syrian refugees to return home.

Addressing the situation in southern Lebanon, Aoun emphasized that the Lebanese army's complete deployment in the area is currently obstructed by Israel's continued occupation of five hills along the border. The president called on the United States to pressure Israel to withdraw from these positions, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement reached last November, to allow the Lebanese army to assert full control and restore state sovereignty over the entire region. Enditem