François Picard welcomes Ghassan Salamé, Lebanon's Minister of Culture. Salamé portrays Lebanon as a country that has preserved political pluralism and freedom of expression, and persevered despite decades of conflict. Within this context, he frames negotiation with Israel not as a matter of choice, but of necessity: the only viable path toward stability, dignity and the basic conditions for the Lebanese people to live and thrive.
These conditions, he argues, depend on full sovereignty over their land, people and waters, alongside respect for international law.
Reflecting on Lebanon's effort to find common ground with Israel, Salamé underscores the importance of remaining both steadfast and pragmatic.
"Look, you don't negotiate with your friend. You have nothing to negotiate with your friend. You negotiate with your enemy. And in this case, what we want is to negotiate in order to give serenity and prosperity to our fellow countrymen. That's what we are looking for. We know exactly how the military balance of power stands. We know it is not in our favour, but we also know that our population is ready to accept the principle of putting the country's interests before anything else."
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