France’s Emmanuel Macron became the first foreign head of state to visit Beirut since Joseph Aoun was elected president of Lebanon.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Israel to accelerate its withdrawal from southern Lebanon as the deadline approaches under the terms of a cease-fire that ended the war with Hezbollah last year.
During his visit to Beirut on Friday, President Macron also expressed France’s support for the increased deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon, saying that the Lebanese army must have a complete monopoly on weapons.
President Macron spoke alongside Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, who served as commander of the Lebanese army until this month’s head of state election, and said, “We need a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.”
“We support the expansion of the Lebanese Army and its deployment to southern Lebanon,” the French president said.
Macron is the first foreign head of state to visit Beirut since Aoun was elected to the vacant head of state post in Lebanon’s parliament on January 9, significantly worsening the position of Iran-aligned Hezbollah. This suggests a change in the country’s power balance after the war. It weakened.
The cease-fire, brokered by the United States and France, takes effect on November 27 and requires Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days and Hezbollah to remove all fighters and weapons from the south.
With the Israeli army withdrawing by January 26, the Lebanese army must also deploy to the south along with UN peacekeepers.
With just over a week left until the deadline, President Macron called for accelerated implementation of the ceasefire.
“The results have come… but they need to be accelerated and long-lasting. There must be a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army and the Lebanese army must have complete monopoly on all weapons,” President Macron said. .
A commission made up of representatives from Israel, Lebanon, France, the United States, and UN peacekeeping forces is tasked with monitoring implementation of the ceasefire.
President Macron also announced that Paris will host an international conference for the reconstruction of Lebanon in the coming weeks.
President Macron said, “As soon as the president (Aoun) comes to Paris in the next few weeks, we will organize an international recovery conference led by the president to raise funds.”
“The international community must prepare for massive support to rebuild infrastructure.”
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodor, reporting from Beirut, quoted the French president as saying: “Spring has come in Lebanon.”
“He is talking about a new reality, a new leadership for this country. … President Macron’s visit is part of showing support for this new leader,” she said.
Caudle added that in a statement to the press, President Macron also mentioned the reforms that Lebanon needs to undertake, whether in the judiciary, the financial sector or the public sector, as Lebanon forms a new government. .
