BEIRUT, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that Lebanon has started "a new phase" by beginning disarming the south, particularly the south of the Litani River, in line with a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.
Mikati made the remarks in an address to reporters after meeting with newly elected President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace.
During the meeting, "we talked about the situation in the south and the necessity of completing the Israeli withdrawal, restoring stability in the south, and stopping Israeli violations of Lebanon," Mikati said.
In his first remarks as president on Thursday, Aoun said he would work to assert the state's right to hold the monopoly on arms.
Mikati also discussed with the president "the work achieved in the past period," the existing challenges, and the presidential oath, "which sets the directions for any new government to implement what is stated in it through the necessary constitutional steps."
The prime minister revealed that during the meeting, Aoun asked him to continue overseeing government affairs until the formation of the new administration.
On the same day, the official National News Agency reported that Mikati will visit Syria on Saturday at the invitation of the new Syrian administration.
Aoun, Lebanon's army chief, was elected president on Thursday, ending the country's two-year presidential vacuum.
The election follows the end of a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah under the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States and France on Nov. 27, 2024.
As per the agreement, Israel is to withdraw from Lebanese territory within 60 days, with the Lebanese army deploying along the Lebanese-Israeli border and in southern Lebanon to assume security responsibilities and prevent the presence of weapons and militants. ■
