BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Saturday, saying he would welcome any effort to prevent a security vacuum in the south if UN peacekeepers withdraw as planned at the end of the year.
Barrot is in Beirut for a two-day visit to discuss “mechanisms for an international presence” in the south — the scene of repeated conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah — after the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires.
In a statement, Aoun reiterated Lebanon’s desire to extend UNIFIL’s mandate, but added, “if this proves impossible, Lebanon welcomes any arrangement that ensures an international presence in the south, prevents a vacuum, and avoids placing the Lebanese army in direct contact with the Israeli army.”
Israel still occupies a band of territory in southern Lebanon after their latest fight with Hezbollah, sparked by rocket attacks by the group in March at the outset of the Middle East war.
Under pressure from the United States, Israel’s key ally, the UN Security Ceouncil voted in August 2025 to end UNIFIL’s mandate on December 31, 2026.
France and Italy announced in June that they intended to establish a multinational force following the end of UNIFIL’s mission.
Before Barrot’s arrival in Beirut, the French foreign ministry said France was “ready to fully play its part” in preventing a security vacuum and supporting the Lebanese army’s redeployment to the south.
Israel and Lebanon struck a framework agreement in June that provides for the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from territories it occupies, and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the area, beginning in two pilot areas.
Since the deal was struck Israeli airstrikes have slowed in Lebanon, but have not stopped altogether. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has refused to surrender its weapons.
Aoun on Saturday reiterated that Israel “has not complied with the provisions of the framework agreement.”
He said a Lebanese military delegation would take part in a meeting with Israeli and US representatives in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday with the aim of “putting Lebanon’s demands for an end to Israeli escalation on the table.”
During their visit, the French delegation is scheduled to meet with several Lebanese officials, including army chief Rodolphe Haykal, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Hezbollah-allied Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.