The President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, renewed his thanks to His Holiness Pope Leo President Aoun’s words came during his meeting this afternoon with His Holiness the Pope, then the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Vatican Secretary of State, Monsignor Richard Gallagher, at the beginning of his visit to the Vatican. The President of the Republic arrived at 9:30 in San Damaso Square in the Vatican, where he was received by the Chief of Protocol of the Vatican State, Monsignor Javier Fernandez Gonzalez. He was accompanied by the Papal Guard to the office of His Holiness the Pope, where he held a retreat with him for half an hour, followed by a meeting with President Aoun, the Secretary of State of the Vatican, and the Vatican Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he presented with them the latest developments on the Lebanese scene and the repeated Israeli attacks on villages in Lebanon. And its infrastructure and civilians. During the two meetings, President Aoun thanked Lebanon and the Vatican City for all the efforts it has made to support it since the Supreme Pontiff’s recent visit to Lebanon. Then he presented the political, economic, and daily life developments that Lebanon witnessed in the recent period. President Aoun called on His Holiness the Pope and officials in the Vatican to continue their diplomatic efforts in all international forums to achieve Lebanese demands, most notably obligating Israel to implement the provisions of the framework formula, which was signed under the auspices of the United States of America on June 26, and to stop its daily attacks that especially target civilians, civilian facilities, infrastructure, and villages in the south. President Aoun also called on the Holy Father and the Holy See to support Lebanon in achieving complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories, in preparation for the reconstruction of what Israel demolished, and the return of the displaced to their lands and villages. The President of the Republic stressed that these steps must coincide with extending the authority of the Lebanese state over its entire territory and restricting the decision of war and peace to its hands, as the only way to achieve security and stability on the borders. President Aoun had presented to the Holy Father a bust of the Blessed Patriarch Elias Al-Hoyek, which included the relics of the Blessed One.