Salam Says Final Deal on French Arms End of Week, Decries 'Insufficient' Int'l Support

Prime Minister Tammam Salam said on Wednesday that France will sign over the weekend the final agreement to equip the Lebanese army with the weapons and ammunition it has ordered, as he lamented the “insufficient” international support for Lebanon.

Salam spoke upon his arrival to Paris on a four-day official visit during which he will discuss with French officials political and security issues.

The PM is scheduled to meet with French President Francois Hollande, Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

He is also expected to meet with members of the Arab diplomatic corps and the Lebanese community in Paris.

His talks are likely to focus on the presidential deadlock, military assistance to Lebanon, the burden of Syrian refugees and the threat of terrorism.

Salam was accompanied by Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and an administrative and diplomatic delegation.

Reporters accompanying Salam quoted him as saying that the final agreement on the purchase of weapons from a Saudi grant will be signed on Saturday.

“These arms will help the military confront terrorism and terrorists that are threatening our entity,” he said.

Officials close to the prime minister told al-Joumhouria newspaper earlier that Salam is hinging on a speedy French delivery of weapons to the army under the $3 billion Saudi grant, which was announced in December last year.

The PM is also seeking to consolidate all sorts of cooperation between Lebanon and France, the officials said.

Speaking before the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee in the evening, Salam said Lebanon is going through “one of the most critical phases in its history,” lamenting that “the support we're receiving from the international community is still largely insufficient.”

The world must “act responsibly” in response to Lebanon's needs, Salam added.

Salam also met with Élisabeth Guigou, chairman of the foreign affairs committee.

Salam's visit to Paris comes as Jean-François Girault, who is the head of the French Foreign Ministry’s Middle East and North Africa department, left Beirut after two days of talks with Lebanese officials from across the political spectrum.

His meetings focused on the presidential deadlock.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May.

Salam told the reporters that the Lebanese political parties should find the “appropriate solution” to the presidential crisis.

Such a solution should guarantee the security and stability of Lebanon, he said.

The premier also expressed belief that France could assist Lebanon to secure the release of the Lebanese soldiers and policemen taken hostage by jihadists last August.

“The case of the captives is complicated. If France was capable of assisting us technically and at the intelligence level, then it wouldn't fail to do so,” he said.

G.K./Y.R.