President Joseph Aoun defended his decision to pursue negotiations with Israel, saying continued warfare would achieve nothing and that the agreement reached so far, while imperfect, has helped limit the expansion of Israeli attacks.

“We made this decision to save what remains of Lebanon,” Aoun told his visitors at the Baabda Palace on Tuesday. “The agreement is not ideal, but it has helped contain the escalation of Israeli attacks.”

Israeli strikes continue in southern Lebanon, he acknowledged, but said the authorities were working to reduce them and advance toward his stated ultimate objective: ending the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel.

“People in the south are exhausted. All they want is to live in safety,” Aoun said, arguing that the country could not afford to remain trapped in a state of war.

“Which is better: to let the war continue while Israel moves freely, or to take action that could spare the country further catastrophe?” he asked.

Aoun said wars ultimately end in one of two ways: with one side inflicting a decisive defeat on the other, or with both sides being compelled to negotiate. Since he believed the war would not deliver a solution, he said, pursuing talks was the more responsible choice.

The president said he had faced a choice between standing by and doing nothing or making a decision and accepting responsibility for it. He chose negotiations, he added, because they had yielded results, even if they fell short of an ideal outcome.

The United States was now giving greater attention to Lebanon, Aoun said, although he cautioned that the process was far from over. Lebanon’s objectives, he stressed, remained an Israeli withdrawal, the return of displaced residents, the release of prisoners and reconstruction.

“These goals will not be achieved overnight, but we are moving forward one step at a time,” he said, adding that he would exercise his constitutional powers to pursue them despite opposition from some quarters.

Aoun also called for greater confidence in Lebanon’s future, saying the country’s most important asset was its people rather than its natural resources.

“If you have gold, gas and oil but no one capable of managing those resources, what good are they?” he asked.

On domestic security, Aoun distinguished the situation in the south from conditions elsewhere in the country. Lebanon, he said, remained among the countries with the lowest crime rates in the world and continued to attract foreign visitors and tourists, including Arabs and others who come to spend the summer.

Addressing the economic crisis, the president pointed to the impact of regional and global developments, saying Lebanon was not responsible for all the forces weighing on its economy.

“What happens in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait affects the entire world,” he said. Oil prices, the war imposed on Lebanon and what he described as traders’ greed were also adding to the economic burden.

The State had a responsibility to ease people’s suffering, Aoun said, but it was not the sole cause of the crisis or the only party responsible for its consequences.

He said Lebanon had recorded economic growth of around 4% last year, while Banque du Liban’s assets had increased and the balance of payments had posted a surplus. The country had expected growth of 6% this year, he added, but the war had set those expectations back.

Despite the slowdown, the government was continuing to pursue reforms, Aoun said, accusing a faction of opposing the establishment of a functioning state because strong institutions would threaten its interests.

“There are people who simply do not want the state to function, because a functioning state and its institutions would mean the end of their influence,” he said.

Aoun acknowledged that Lebanon faced serious obstacles after four decades of corruption, mismanagement and administrative incompetence. Such problems could not be resolved overnight, he said, but insisted that the government remained determined to press ahead.

“I do not want to minimize what this government has accomplished. There is still a great deal to do, but we have put the country on the right track,” he said.