French President Emmanuel Macron, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Jordan’s King Abdullah II held a meeting in Paris on Thursday to discuss mobilizing international support for the Lebanese Army’s deployment across the country and examine arrangements after the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, ends at the end of this year.
International participation in operational meeting
The discussions focused on preparing a clear and realistic plan for the deployment of the Lebanese armed forces, and defining the operation’s context, criteria and implementation mechanisms. Participants also conducted a collective assessment of the Lebanese Army’s needs, in preparation for international support covering funding, equipment and training. The Lebanese presidency said Aoun expressed satisfaction with the course of the deliberations during the Paris meeting.
The Army’s needs and field missions
The Army faces difficulties linked to low salaries and a lack of equipment, while the missions under consideration include deployment along the borders and disarming Hezbollah alongside the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Aoun and Macron discussed the situation in Lebanon and developments on the ground, as well as efforts to halt Israeli attacks on Lebanese villages and towns.
They also discussed the Lebanese-American-Israeli negotiations and the “framework agreement” signed during them. In a post on the X platform, Macron said that “sovereignty and stability in Lebanon are a decisive step toward peace and stability in the region as a whole.” The meeting addressed the future of the international presence in southern Lebanon after UNIFIL leaves starting in January.
Security arrangements after UNIFIL ends
Aoun thanked Macron for the initiative he launched jointly with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, noting progress in drafting proposals at the Security Council on the forthcoming arrangements. Before his visit to Paris, Aoun had called for the temporary deployment of a new European or other force until the Lebanese Army is fully ready, to avoid a security vacuum after UNIFIL’s withdrawal.
France and Italy, among the leading contributors to the international force, are discussing the future of security arrangements in the south. The Lebanese president also stressed the importance of organizing a conference for Lebanon’s reconstruction alongside a conference to support the Lebanese armed forces. Both conferences were postponed indefinitely after the war broke out in the spring, while the French Foreign Ministry linked the reconstruction conference to the availability of the necessary conditions.
Aoun expressed his desire to reach a security agreement with Israel after its forces withdraw from the south of the country, affirming his determination to disarm Hezbollah “without confrontation.” He also called on European and American countries and the available information to support the Lebanese Army in expanding its deployment in the south.
During the Jordanian king’s visit, Jordan and France also signed a defense cooperation agreement, signed on the French side by Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin.
