BEIRUT – French Defence Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian pledged support for Lebanon’s military on Monday
during meetings with the country’s president and his Lebanese
counterpart. Jean-Yves Le Drian pledges support for Lebanon’s military, says France
will maintain commitment to ‘well-organised and robust armed forces. After talks with Lebanon’s Defence
Minister Yaacub Sarraf, Le Drian emphasised France’s committment to a
“well-organised and robust Lebanese armed forces”. During
his meeting with President Michel Aoun, a former army chef, he said
France would continue to provide assistance to the Lebanese army,
according to a readout provided by Aoun’s office. But
there were no specifics on the reactivation of a frozen French military
aid package, funded by Saudi Arabia, for the Lebanese army.
In
January, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said he was
confident the $3-billion aid package would be restored after Riyadh
halted it last year. Saudi Arabia said it had halted the aid to protest the power of Shiite militant group Hezbollah over the Lebanese state. But
there have been hopes the aid might be restored, with Aoun, an ally of
Hezbollah, visiting Riyadh in January and agreeing to new talks on the
issue.
Aoun’s office said he had thanked Le Drian on
Monday for “the support provided by France to Lebanon in all fields,
especially in the military field”. Aoun expressed hope
for “the continuation of this support to enable the army to carry out
the national responsibilities on its shoulders, particularly in the
areas of security and stability in the country, and the fight against
terrorism”. Le Drian is expected to meet Prime Minister Saad Hariri later on Monday. His trip will also include a visit to French members of the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL in southern Lebanon.
