France will begin delivering weapons purchased with a $3 billion Saudi grant to the Lebanese military in two months, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday.
France will begin delivering weapons purchased with a $3 billion Saudi grant to the Lebanese military in two months, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday.
“Prime Minister Tammam Salam was informed by the French Foreign Minister that the first shipment of weapons...will arrive to Lebanon in the first week of April,” read a statement by the premier’s news office.
The Foreign Minister’s comments were made during a meeting with the prime minister on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich.
Salam also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who expressed hopes that dialogue between Lebanon’s rival political factions would lead to “positive changes” in the country’s political climate.
The Russian Foreign Minister stressed Moscow’s continued support to Lebanon in managing the mass influx of Syrian refugees, announcing that his country would send direct aid through the UNHCR.
Salam also met with The UAE foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan; Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shokry and Iraqi Prime Minister, Haidar al-Abadi as well as Norway’s Foreign Minister.
Earlier Sunday, Salam met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the meeting. The Lebanese premier called on Tehran "to assist in the election of a Lebanese president," according to a statement released by the premier's news office.
For his part, Zarif said that “Iran is keen on seeing a new President in Lebanon, and is ready to support any agreement that is reached between the Lebanese and [between] the Christians especially,” noting that Tehran does not want any security breaches in Lebanon or on its borders.