Speaking at a joint press conference with President Aoun of Lebanon, President Erdoğan said: “Lebanon is a brotherly country that has suffered the biggest harm as an area of rivalry and conflict of some powers in the region for years. In this sense, Lebanon is one of the countries that will benefit the most from the environment of stability, peace and cooperation we have aimed for since the very beginning in the Middle East.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon held a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Complex.
“We maintain our strong support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”
Voicing his pleasure over hosting President Aoun of Lebanon in Türkiye, President Erdoğan thanked his counterpart for this visit at presidential level from Lebanon to Türkiye after a 17-year hiatus, and said: “Today, we have addressed the regional developments in light of particularly the ongoing Israeli occupation south of Lebanon. We maintain our strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the friendly and brotherly Lebanon that we have strong ties with.”
“Lebanon is a brotherly country that has suffered the biggest harm as an area of rivalry and conflict of some powers in the region for years. In this sense, Lebanon is one of the countries that will benefit the most from the environment of stability, peace and cooperation we have aimed for since the very beginning in the Middle East,” President Erdoğan noted.
“We have addressed the opportunities to further enhance our bilateral relations”
Drawing attention to Lebanese President Aoun’s recent diplomatic initiatives, President Erdoğan went on to say: “We have discussed how we as Türkiye can contribute to him with his initiatives. We have addressed the opportunities to further enhance our bilateral relations in various areas. In this regard, we will continue our support in order for Lebanon’s institutional capacity to be increased. We will continue to provide humanitarian and technical aid to Lebanon. Also, we believe that the incremental continuation of the dialogue that has emerged between Lebanon and Syria would benefit both countries. We stand ready to provide necessary contribution in order for the relations of the two countries with challenging pasts to be strengthened.”
“The completion of the mission of the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) will constitute an important development. We as Türkiye would like to be in all the initiatives to be launched to support security in the region and to ensure Lebanon’s sovereignty after the withdrawal of the current international force,” President Erdoğan stressed.
“Türki̇ye is one of the countries that have given the strongest reaction to the attacks”
Further stressing that over 4,300 Lebanese citizens have been lost their lives, over 2,000 have been wounded, and that over 1 million people have been displaced since March 2, 2026 when Israel began its attacks against Lebanon, President Erdoğan extended his condolences and sympathies to the Lebanese people, and continued as follows: “Türkiye is one of the countries that have given the strongest reaction to the attacks. We have kept the crimes against humanity Israel has committed on the agenda during this process as well. We closely follow the diplomatic initiatives launched to end this attack and occupation. I would like to state that we stand ready to provide all the support we can in terms of the reconstruction of the south of Lebanon that has been intensely affected by the Israeli attacks.”
