The leaders of France, Lebanon and Jordan convened in Paris to drum up international support for the Lebanese army.
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leaders → convene → army
Macron welcomed Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and King Abdullah II of Jordan to Paris for the talks on Thursday.
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Macron → welcome → Thursday
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talks → focus → Lebanon
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that → set → What
The meetings come after a US-mediated framework deal was agreed between Israel and Lebanon in June.
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deal → come → June
But the agreement did not force Israel to withdraw from the large area of southern Lebanon it occupies, and Israel has continued its attacks on the country.
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Israel → force → country
The agenda also included the creation of a new force to succeed a longstanding United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.
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agenda → include → Lebanon
The officials were later joined by chiefs of defence staff from Lebanon, Jordan, France, the United Kingdom and Italy, as well as top US and Saudi officials, a French military source told the AFP news agency.
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source → join → agency
Macron said that the talks aimed to “strengthen Lebanon’s sovereignty and enable it to fully ensure its security”.
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talks → say → security
“A sovereign and stable Lebanon is a decisive step toward peace and stability for the entire region,” Macron wrote in a statement on X.
“We support the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are indispensable for asserting the authority of the Lebanese state across its entire territory,” he added.
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he → write → territory
The French presidency said the aim of the Paris talks was to review a Lebanese armed forces deployment plan based on a “clear, credible and realistic” framework.
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aim → say → framework
Paris said it wanted this as a prerequisite for what it hopes will be “robust” international support, whether in the form of financial assistance, equipment or training.
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it → say → assistance
Earlier in the day, Aoun and Macron also discussed “efforts to put an end to Israeli attacks in light of the Lebanese-American-Israeli negotiations and the ‘framework agreement’”, according to the Lebanese presidency.
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Aoun → discuss → presidency
Aoun also said the Lebanese army is the “main pillar for protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty”, stressing that strengthening state authority is a Lebanese choice rather than an externally imposed demand.
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strengthening → say → authority
The Lebanese president expressed his “profound relief” at the progress of the talks, his office said in a statement on X, adding that he also expressed hope that the needs of the Lebanese army would be met by its allies.
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needs → express → allies
Aoun reiterated his affirmation that only the state should have arms and praised the Lebanese army’s role in working towards the country’s stability.
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state → reiterate → stability
The poorly equipped Lebanese forces have struggled to carry out their mission to disarm Hezbollah in the south.
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forces → equip → south
Aoun has repeatedly stated his determination to disarm Hezbollah, but “without a confrontation”.
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Aoun → state → confrontation
The talks also come as the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ends this year after almost half a century of operations dating back to the Israeli invasion of 1978.
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mandate → come → 1978
Last year, the UN Security Council, under US pressure, decided to end UNIFIL’s mandate on December 31, 2026.
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Council → decide → December
France and Italy have said they want to set up a multinational coalition to succeed UNIFIL.
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they → say → UNIFIL
The force has just fewer than 7,500 peacekeepers from 46 countries.
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force → have → countries
Aoun told the AFP this week that Lebanon wanted a new force, European or otherwise, to prevent a security vacuum after the UN peacekeepers leave south Lebanon.
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peacekeepers → tell → Lebanon
Israel and the United States attacked Iran in February, setting off a war that has spread across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, with Israeli forces fighting Hezbollah.
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forces → attack → Hezbollah
Israel invaded southern Lebanon, and its forces continue to occupy what is a stretch of Lebanese territory about 10 kilometres (six miles) deep along the border.
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what → invade → border
In June, Israel and Lebanon signed a US-sponsored framework agreement that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon’s south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region.
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that → sign → region
Fears of a renewed Israeli military campaign, however, are growing in Lebanon after escalating attacks, despite the “ceasefire” agreed to in June.
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Fears → renew → June
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