Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi on Sunday urged Cypriots “not to confuse” the Lebanese state with insurgent group Hezbollah, after a drone fired from Lebanon hit Cyprus six days prior.

The drone had been fired by Hezbollah, and Raggi was keen to stress that “these acts do not represent Lebanon, its state, its people, or its values”, and said he rejects “any attempt to turn Lebanon into a platform for the execution of external agendas”.

“I called on our Cypriot friends not to confuse the Lebanese state with those acting outside its authority and legal framework,” he said, before going on to point out that the Lebanese government had “declared all military and security activities carried out by Hezbollah to be unlawful”.

He added that “the attacks against Cyprus must be understood in this context, as they are acts carried out outside the authority of the Lebanese state and in direct contradiction with its sovereign decisions”.

To this end, he expressed “deep regret that such condemnable acts have occurred”, and offered “Lebanon’s full and unequivocal rejection of them, without reservation”.

Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist paramilitary group based in Lebanon, which is aligned with the current government of Iran. Its political wing, the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, holds 15 seats in Lebanon’s parliament.

Relations between Cyprus and Lebanon have strengthened since Joseph Aoun was elected as Lebanon’s president in January last year, with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides visiting Lebanon the following day, becoming the first foreign leader to meet Aoun after the election.

Aoun then visited Cyprus in July last year, saying at the time that “Cyprus has always been by Lebanon’s side” and highlighting the “proximity of the two countries, not only geographically, but also in common interests and challenges”.

“Cyprus has always been supportive of Lebanon,” he said, adding that his country “relies” on Cyprus and will continue to do so.

At the time, Christodoulides expressed his “great joy” over welcoming Aoun to the island.

He went on to describe Aoun’s visit as “substantial, symbolic, and historic”, and added that it “constitutes clear proof, among other things, of the close bonds of friendship and cooperation which govern our relations”.

Additionally, he said that the two countries had been “like twins” historically, and that the Mediterranean “unites, rather than divides” them.

The pair then met again on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly in New York in September last year, with Christodoulides then pledging his support for a “safe and stable Lebanon”.

After that meeting, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that Cyprus’ intention is to “contribute to and to actively support the upgrading of relations” between the EU and Lebanon.