French PR receives Lebanese President and King Abdullah II of Jordan

After this first meeting in the palace of the Elisha, Emmanuel Macron will later receive King Abdullah II of Jordan at the National Palace Les Invalides.

The three leaders will then have a joint meeting and, at the end of the morning, will open an “operational” meeting of senior military officials from their countries and from various partner states, including the United Kingdom, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The aim is to examine “the deployment plan” of the Lebanese Armed Forces according to a “clear, credible and realistic plan,” the French Presidency said.

According to the French Presidency, France wants “the operating context, the parameters, the modalities of this action to be clarified by the end of this working day” as a prerequisite for “very robust and operational” support from the international community, whether in financial aid, equipment or training.

Lebanese forces, poorly paid and poorly equipped, continue their mission to disarm the Shia group Hezbollah in the south of the country. Disarmament of this pro-Iranian rebel group is a condition for the withdrawal of Israel from southern Lebanon.

Before going to Paris, President Aoun stated on Tuesday in an interview with the AFP news agency that he wanted to reach a security agreement with Israel as soon as the Israeli Army withdrew from southern Lebanon.

Aoun stressed his determination to disarm Hezbollah, but “without confrontation”. The Lebanese Head of State also asked the Europeans, Americans and Arabs to support the Lebanese Army, called to stand in the south of the country, currently partially occupied by Israel.

The Lebanese President has finally called for a new UN force – as the mandate of the current force (UNIFIL) expires soon – until the Lebanese Army is ready to avoid a “security vacuum”.

France and Italy, the main country contributing troops to UNIFIL, are considering the development of the international device in southern Lebanon at the end of the UN force mandate at the end of this year.

Lebanon will also be one of the central themes of the UN General Assembly next week in New York.