The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed the joint statement issued yesterday by the ministerial meeting between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United States of America on developments in the region. The Ministry "highly appreciated what was stated in the statement about Lebanon, especially in terms of its welcoming of the ongoing negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under American auspices and its emphasis on the importance of maintaining the course of the negotiation process and not linking it to any other disputes, and the assertion that full Lebanese sovereignty cannot be achieved while non-state armed groups maintain military capabilities, in addition to calling for the complete disarmament of all these groups and the monopoly of the Lebanese state alone on the use of force."