Report: French Official in Beirut Monday to Finalize List of Saudi-French Arms Deal

Head of ODAS company Admiral Edouard Guillaud is scheduled to arrive in Beirut on Monday to finalize the list of weapons and equipment needed by Lebanon as part of the Saudi-French arms deal, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

It said that he will sign the list of weapons along with Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji.

The signing of the list will pave the way for implementing the remainder of the deal, which will take place over a period of five years.

Following his Beirut stop, Guillaud is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia to deliver the list of arms and equipment.

Saudi authorities will in turn sign it, followed by Riyadh's transfer of 20 percent of the $3 billion arms deal to France.

The transfer, of around $600 million, should be made before the end of the year, added As Safir.

Once concluded, Lebanon will begin receiving the arms and equipment mentioned in the list during the first quarter of 2015.

The first batch of weapons includes seven Gazelle fighter helicopters and seven Boma helicopters, some of which are used and have been refurbished, which will speed up the process of their delivery.

Weapons and equipment that need to be manufactured will take a longer time to be delivered. They include four naval ships, which are not expected to be delivered to Beirut before three years, reported As Safir.

Meanwhile, French sources revealed that the United States will deliver to the Lebanese military 12 Kiowa light fighter helicopters as part of the $1 billion grant from Saudi Arabia that was announced by head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri in August.

A Cessna plane will be included in the delivery, as well as eight Tucano planes that can be equipped with Hellfire rockets and laser-directed bombs that can destroy armored vehicles.

Saudi Arabia and France inked in Riyadh in November a deal to provide the Lebanese army with $3 billion worth of French weapons, with Riyadh footing the bill.

The deal, first announced in December, comes as the Lebanese army is battling gunmen and jihadists, including from the Islamic State group, in the north and along its northeastern border with war-torn Syria.

M.T.

D.A.