Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah says it is in Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s interest to withdraw from direct talks with Israel, while adding that his group wants the current ceasefire to last, AFP reports.

“It is in the interest of the state, the interest of Lebanon, the president of the republic and the government to move away from the path of direct negotiation and return to a national understanding about the best option for Lebanon,” he tells AFP in an interview.

“We will reject and confront any attempt to impose political costs on Lebanon through concessions made to this Israeli enemy,” he said, but adds that Hezbollah wants “the ceasefire to continue”, accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal.