The head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, stated that when the understanding document was completed, the defensive strategy that protects and defends Lebanon was a crucial component, "because we were convinced that the Lebanese Army and the resistance have proven their ability to liberate and protect Lebanon." He continued, "Today, we do not need anyone from outside to liberate our land or defend us; there are stages from our history that we must have learned from and not repeat." During a Ramadan iftar in Byblos, he pointed out that the Cairo Agreement is dead and the "land for the opening" is no longer present. "We do not need someone to use our land to send messages... and we do not accept anything on our land except for Lebanese weapons in the hands of Lebanese people. We want our country for ourselves, not to be a means for anyone." He added, with complete realism and without exaggeration, that if they did not have the ability to defend their country, perhaps someone could theorize alternative solutions, questioning, "Why do we accept missiles to be launched from our land that are not Lebanese in origin, and why return to the buried days from which we should have learned?"
Regarding Syrian refugees, Bassil mentioned that the stance on this issue is not a racist or sectarian position, but a national stance, asking, "Should we listen to the international community even at the expense of our country?" He concluded, "We are a unifying movement and we want the unity of Lebanon, and we cannot live outside this unity. We always strive for that no matter how they distort our reality and words, but the nature of our movement is aligned with the nature of our country."
