The statements, widely reported by local media, were made during a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky, on the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held in Geneva, Switzerland, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry stated.

The official statement noted that both sides also discussed ways to strengthen and develop bilateral relations in the economic, educational, and cultural spheres.

Raji underscored the need to halt Israeli aggression against Lebanon and withdraw its forces from the areas it still occupies, emphasizing that the government must commit to restricting weaponry to the legitimate military institutions of the State.

He urged Hezbollah to lay down its weapons “now that there is a state capable of fully assuming its sovereign responsibilities and extending its authority over all of Lebanese territory,” the statement points out.

The Lebanese cabinet approved on August 5, 2025, a plan aimed at consolidating all weapons under state control, including those held by Hezbollah, in a decision described then as historic and unprecedented in nearly five decades.

abo/iff/lam/fm