US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the meeting with the President of the Lebanese Republic, General Joseph Aoun, was very positive. "The atmosphere was very positive this morning. I believe, as I said, that the best thing that can happen to Lebanon is for it to have a legitimate government controlling the country," he said. Rubio pointed out that "the biggest problem that Lebanon faces is the presence of a political movement that also possesses an 'armed militia', which is not only well-armed, trained, equipped and financed by Iran, but also uses these capabilities to carry out 'terrorist' acts, especially against northern Israel." He considered that "as long as this problem continues, Lebanon will not enjoy complete peace." The US Secretary of State said: "So, how can Hezbollah be defeated? And how can it be replaced? This will be done through a government strong enough to be the only party that possesses weapons in the country, so that the responsibility for Lebanon's security becomes in the hands of the Lebanese army and through a government capable of achieving prosperity for its citizens." He added: "We talked about the opportunities available to achieve this. It is not only about the military aspects, but it is also about how to attract more American and international investments to Lebanon and also about things like how to restart direct flights between the United States and Lebanon, which is not currently possible. So we will start a path with them to discuss the possibility of achieving this, to see if it is possible and when it can be accomplished." Rubio confirmed that "President Aoun will hold a very positive meeting with President Donald Trump." He said: "I believe that President Aoun will be able to return to Lebanon and tell the Lebanese people that he is the one who achieves positive results for all Lebanese, including Christians, Sunnis, Shiites, Bedouins and Druze, that is, for all the people of this diverse country and not Hezbollah or Iran. He represents the legitimate government and is the party with whom we will work. This government is the one that must take over the administration of this country."