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 Hizbollah – 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."
