Suleiman Requests Aid for Army to Implement Defense Strategy at Lebanon Support Meeting
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
President Michel Suleiman hoped on Wednesday that the international community will commit to pledges it had made towards Lebanon concerning tackling the Syrian refugees and assisting the Lebanese army.
He said: “We hope the international community will support the army to help it implement a defense strategy that I had proposed at the national dialogue.”
He made his remarks during the opening of the International Support Group meeting in Paris, France alongside President Francois Hollande.
He thanked Saudi King Abdullah for his kingdom's three-billion-dollar grant to the army, while also hailing the Italian government for providing equipment and training to the troops.
He noted that the meeting “demonstrates the international community's keenness to help Lebanon.”
“We are determined to overcome the various obstacles that are facing the country in implementing various projects aimed at revitalizing its economy,” Suleiman continued.
Moreover, he hoped that countries would contribute to the fund aimed at aiding Lebanon.
Addressing the flow of Syrian refugees to Lebanon, the president lamented that the “aid to the refugees has not met our expectations.”
“Countries should commit to the pledges they made towards the refugees,” he demanded.
“We ask for the international community's help in confronting the consequences of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon,” he urged, while hoping that Lebanon will be “kept neutral from the conflict.”
For his part, Hollande said: “There are more than one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. It is a very heavy burden.”
Hollande, who has previously said France is willing to assist Lebanon in any way it needs, said the meeting should focus on more than just "moral and political" support -- calling for donors to provide training and equipment to Lebanese troops.
In an official communique about the Group's opening session, the conferees stressed “the continued need for coordinated and strong international support for Lebanon to help it confront the various challenges that its security and stability are facing.”
The participants also called on “all parties in Lebanon cooperate to secure the continuity of state institutions,” stressing “the crucial importance of confidence and stability in Lebanon for holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on time.”
The conferees urged all Lebanese parties to “abide by the Baabda Declaration and Lebanon's dissociation policy,” condemning “the recurrent terrorist bombings in Lebanon” and highlighting the need for “further international support for the Lebanese security authorities.”
Participants noted the launch on February 20 of a coordination mechanism in support of the five-year plan to equip the Lebanese Army, saying they are looking forward to “the conference that the Italian government intends to host in Rome in support of the army, which will create a collective, concentrated opportunity to boost international assistance.”
They welcomed the pledges made at the January 15 International Donor Conference in Kuwait and highlighted the need both for delivery of the assistance pledged to be expedited and for further assistance as requested in the Regional Response Plan, encouraging the Lebanese government to “coordinate closely with the U.N. and other partners to address the critical humanitarian needs of refugees in Lebanon.”
The conferees also noted “the value of the aid that was offered to Lebanon through long-term partnerships, which have intensified since the eruption of the Syrian crisis.”
On Wednesday evening and at the end of the discussions, Suleiman thanked the participants for “their commitment to support Lebanon, its economy and its army, for insisting on preserving the country's stability and for providing aid to deal with the refugees' crisis.”
"The united international stand backing Lebanon must motivate local and regional groups to neutralize the country from the negative repercussions of the crises in its surroundings and to engage in finding solutions to these conflicts,” Suleiman said.
Separately, the president discussed bilateral relations with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, tackling also Washington's support to the military institution.
The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of 10 countries, including Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
The Lebanese delegation included Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and several of Suleiman's advisors.
The support group was set up in New York in September 2013 on the sidelines of the 68th session of the General Assembly to help Beirut deal with the implications of the brutal war in Syria that began in March 2011.
It is intended to provide financial, political and security support to the country.
It undertook to work together to mobilize support for the sovereignty and state institutions of Lebanon and to highlight and promote efforts to assist the country where it was most affected by the Syrian crisis, including in respect of strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese army, assistance to refugees, and structural and financial support to the government.
The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has surged to more than 900,000 according to the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) and Lebanon is facing difficulties in coping with their burden.
05 March 2014, 16:40
12
They offered weapons ya bum, what are you complaining about? Unlike Saudis they can make their own. And what did you expect? That they throw money in Suleiman's face so he can go beg France to sell us some junk? Iranians might not have the same tech and fancy toys, but at least they would give us the best they have, not outdated and neutered stuff. Nothing in the deal with France can be used to defend against Israel.
05 March 2014, 16:43
42
Hello anonymetexasusa
Good to see you again. I see nothing has changed here you are still dealing with guys who deform the truth...
Keep correcting them my friend
05 March 2014, 17:13
31
(1). Roar ya Roar, why do you keep being so hard on Suleiman? Aoun and the FPM, if it came to them alone, will be the keepers of the Holy Bible, the Holy Torab and the Holy Koran. Yes, I respect your firm adherence to man and party, but it doesn't mean that you can enjoy a field day going above the norm of criticism. Everyone at the beginning wanted Suleiman, but when you guys and Hezbollah started pushing your limits, and time after time without realizing your limits, the president of all the Lebanese had to cut it straight with you. Now what is adding salt to your injuries is the fact that Aoun will never see that much coveted seat.
05 March 2014, 17:14
31
(2). Hezbollah is particularly sore about this, because their final hope for a ready-made-rubber-stamper-dream will not happen, maybe even worse, Suleiman may see his term extended (heads rolling already). Neither Aoun, nor Hezbollah, nor their respective partisans can tolerate a leader who snubs them on the nose, a leader who can say NO, that is what is sitting so badly with you and the rest at HA and FPM co.
05 March 2014, 17:18
22
hahahahah nice story anonyme, expect for one little detail: it all BS! Iran offered advanced weapons, including air defense systems that in your wildest dreams neither Saudi nor France would ever give or sell us.
Don't you find it weird that israel freaked out when Iran proposed help, and got all their lobbyists on the case (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/iran-offers-to-support-lebanese-army-if-u-s-withholds-military-aid-1.307192) whereas now they haven't even peeped? they know from the get-go that they have nothing to worry about on this deal.
05 March 2014, 17:21
31
the president was initially supposed to be neutral. one trip to saudi and now he speaks like a hardcore m14er. the president of the republic cannot be partisan like this, he is supposed to unite, not divide. the only reason why m14 want to beatify him is because he's telling them everything they want to hear, and more.
05 March 2014, 17:37
12
it's sad how hard you try to find pretexts, going as far as depicting the army as a mosaic of sectarian clans, to find an excuse not to accept Iran's help.
05 March 2014, 19:34
11
No ya Mowaten, no habibi my brother, the president was supposed to be neutral and he remains neutral. It is that very neutrality i.e, not bowing to M8's pressures and wishes that have earned him the wrath of M8, led by Hezbollah itself. You know brother, people like me knew that this would come to a head one day or the other and why? Because with Hezbollah shoving its way forward, irrespective of if there is a government, or a presidency or a constitution, HA just does what it wants, but it got used to that, and today we are witnessing a president who can say a flat NO to Hezbollah. Maybe if I was alone in this sentiment, one could say I was wrong, but more than half of Lebanon's population cannot be wrong so simultaneously.
05 March 2014, 20:26
31
you're going nowhere with that anonyme. HA is lebanese, whether you like it or not. and if ever you want to call them iranians because they had support from iran, then you would have to say m14 are saudis. can't have it both ways.
05 March 2014, 21:43
22
hezbollah are lebanese... LOL just like lahd's army was lebanese! LOL
05 March 2014, 22:09
20
Sleiman and the LAF getting support in Lebanon and abroad, that means the rat will soon get out of his sewer and make us a speech...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bb0m7dXIEAABC38.jpg
06 March 2014, 02:34
00
Defence strategy?
Will that include the armed group?
Or will the armed group hand in their weapons.
Since there will be a well equipped & trained LAF in Lebanon. Do we really need an armed group to defend Lebanon any more?
06 March 2014, 02:34
00
Defence strategy?
Will that include the armed group?
Or will the armed group hand in their weapons.
Since there will be a well equipped & trained LAF in Lebanon. Do we really need an armed group to defend Lebanon any more?
06 March 2014, 07:26
00
Bigjohn
If the armed group integrates into the LAF the weapons will still be in use & ready.
Why does it seem that some people here are trying to degrade the national defence force.
Give them what the group has it will be just as strong or even stronger. An united army is way stronger than a fragmented one.
06 March 2014, 09:08
01
the saying goes "actions speak louder than words" we can debate whether HA is lebanese iranian or jewish all we want and disagree for 100 years. you need only look at their actions to find the answer.Simple.first it was a resistance against israeli occupation..done. next to liberate palestine..that got too hard. then the sheeba farms..once again too hard. then resistance fighting in syria to protect "our strategic ally"because they are beyond reproach and choose their own path. then resistance against the terrorists that threaten lebanon ,not acknowledging that these filthy terrorist publicly announced they have no qualms with lebanon but will strike back at "specifically" HA if they do not withdraw from Syria. so when they do HA feeds us their BS that these terrorists are invading lebanon to justify their involvemnet in syria.you make up your own minds here..
06 March 2014, 10:29
00
FORCES
I agree to a certain extent with your post & if you keep memory of the history intentions announcements made, & motives of the group.
You will notice there is a problem.
But you will notice apologetics defending theirs sides. Without logic or understanding.
As if it's a battle field here on Naharnet.
A good unbiased analysis needed. It's not a ground battle ground but a place of critical thinking.
06 March 2014, 12:13
00
lol anonyme, you're peddling in all directions to avoid facing facts. whether or not it is a militia has nothing to do with nationality. if m14 does not officially have a militia, but rather are hypocrite and rely on groups they finance and support indirectly, it does not maek them more lebanese.
rafic hariri was a saudi product, he came here with their billions and started taking over the country. his saudi-born son inherited his throne and lives now on king abdullah's lap, sending tweets to his goons here to tell them the sugga daddy's latest fantasies. they cant name a prime minister without him going to saudi to get the king blessing... you call that lebanese? sovereign? wleik zahheit you make a feel ashamed to be lebanese if that's what being lebanese is.
i'd rather be proud of a resistance that fears no one and obeys only values and moral principles.
