President Joseph Aoun on Monday urged Greece to help secure the full implementation of a U.S.-sponsored framework agreement with Israel, saying Lebanon’s people were exhausted by war and that diplomacy was the only viable path to ending hostilities.

Aoun made the appeal during an official visit to Athens, where he held talks with Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas on bilateral relations, Lebanon’s ties with the European Union and efforts to end the conflict with Israel.

Speaking during a joint summit at the presidential palace, Aoun said the Lebanese people were “tired of wars” and needed a period of peace and respite after years of conflict.

“The Lebanese people are tired of war, and it is time for them to rest,” Aoun told Tasoulas, stressing that “diplomacy is the best solution.”

Aoun said Lebanon and Israel had reached a framework agreement under U.S. auspices aimed at ending the state of hostility between the two countries, but warned that the agreement could not succeed if implemented by only one side.

“The framework agreement cannot be implemented by one side alone,” he said. “Both sides must implement it fully and without selectivity.”

He urged Greece to support Lebanon’s efforts to ensure that the agreement is carried out in full, arguing that military solutions had failed to resolve the conflict.

“Resolving the conflict through military means has not worked and will not work,” Aoun said, pointing to the tragedies Lebanon had endured through successive wars.

He reiterated Lebanon’s determination to end its state of hostility with Israel and establish the best possible relations with its neighbors, saying diplomacy offered the best route toward a lasting resolution.

The Lebanese president also stressed that Lebanon’s stability was closely linked to that of the wider Middle East and Europe. Instability in Lebanon, he warned, would have repercussions beyond the country’s borders, while a stable Lebanon would contribute to the security and stability of Greece and Europe.

Greece backs Lebanon

Tasoulas described Lebanon as a friend of Greece and highlighted the historic ties between the two countries, expressing confidence that Aoun would succeed in carrying out the “great responsibility” entrusted to him.

“Greece stands alongside Lebanon,” Tasoulas said.

He said negotiations between Lebanon and Israel could help Lebanon achieve greater independence and prosperity while contributing to the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which provides the international framework governing the situation along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Tasoulas also pointed to the longstanding presence of Greeks and Lebanon’s Orthodox Christian community, as well as Lebanese communities in Greece, as important links between the two countries.

The Greek president reaffirmed Athens’ support for an independent Lebanon and said Greece would work to expand and deepen relations between Lebanon and the European Union.

Aoun, for his part, thanked the Greek people and government for their continued political, humanitarian and military support, saying Greece had stood by Lebanon through successive crises.

He said the primary purpose of his visit was to strengthen bilateral relations across all areas, emphasizing that the two countries shared common interests in international forums, within the European Union and with Lebanon’s other international partners.

A visit focused on deeper ties

Aoun arrived in Athens after departing Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Monday morning. He was received at Athens International Airport by Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, Greece’s Ambassador to Lebanon Despina Koukoulopoulou, Lebanon’s Ambassador to Greece Kanj al-Hajal and members of the Lebanese Embassy.

He later visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Syntagma Square, where he laid a wreath in memory of soldiers who died defending their country. Following the playing of the Lebanese and Greek national anthems, Aoun reviewed the guard of honor with Gerapetritis before meeting Tasoulas at the presidential palace.