France, Saudi Arabia Pledge to Speed Up Arms Delivery Deal
France said Tuesday it would move quickly to answer a call from Lebanon for faster arms deliveries as it battles Islamist militants on the Syrian border.
"France is fully committed to supporting the Lebanese army, a pillar of stability and unity in Lebanon," deputy foreign ministry spokesman Vincent Floreani said.
"We are in close contact with our partners to quickly meet Lebanon's needs," he said.
Earlier, Saudi King Abdullah held a telephone conversation on Tuesday with former President Michel Suleiman, pledging that the kingdom would try to accelerate delivery of weapons under a Saudi-financed deal.
King Abdullah expressed Riyadh's support for Lebanon and its military, Suleiman's office said in a statement.
Last December, Saudi Arabia agreed to finance a $3 billion deal to purchase military equipment and weapons from France for Lebanon's army, which has long complained of being sorely under-equipped.
And in mid-June, at an international conference in Rome, the international community pledged its backing for the Lebanese military.
But talks on the list of material to be furnished to the army under the Saudi-French deal have yet to be finalized.
The king "expressed his country's support for and position alongside the military establishment in the face of terrorism," the statement said.
It said he also "stressed his determination to speed up the implementation of support for the Lebanese army," referring to the Saudi-financed deal.
Suleiman presidential term in office ended earlier this year, but consensus has yet to be reached on his successor.
The fighting in Arsal erupted on Saturday after soldiers arrested a man accused of belonging to al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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