Report: Finishing Touches of Saudi-French Deal to Be Complete on Tuesday
Head of ODAS company Admiral Edouard Guillaud is scheduled to return to Lebanon next week in order to place the finishing touches of the Saudi-French arms deal for the army, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday.
The French official is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Tuesday to make the final signatures of the deal ahead of its implementation.
The first shipment of French weapons, part of the $3 billion deal, is expected to arrive in Lebanon within the next two months.
Guillaud had signed on Monday with Army commander General Jean Qahwaji the first phase of the Saudi-French deal.
He later traveled to Saudi Arabia for the signatures of Saudi officials.
Regarding the kingdom's $1 billion grant to the army, a military official revealed to al-Mustaqbal that the first shipment of arms linked to the agreement will begin arriving in Lebanon within “two to three weeks.”
He expected helicopters and Cessna jets to be included in this shipment, he added according to the daily.
France and Saudi Arabia signed the arms agreement at the beginning of November for Paris to provide the Lebanese military with the $3 billion worth of weapons paid for by Riyadh.
The deal, which was first announced in December 2013, aims at boosting the army as it struggles to contain a rising tide of violence linked to the civil war in Syria.
In August, head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri unveiled Saudi Arabia's grant to the Lebanese army, which is aimed at strengthening security.
M.T.
Source: Agence France Presse
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