Salam tells Quintet Lebanon determined on north Litani disarmament

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Monday with the ambassadors of the five-nation group for Lebanon and told them that the country is determined to implement the arms monopolization plan north of the Litani River.

"I thanked the ambassadors of the Quintet for their visit and their continued support of our government’s reform path, particularly their commendation of the financial regularity and deposit recovery plan submitted by the government to parliament,” Salam said after the meeting.

“I also praised their support for the army's completion of the first phase of the plan to restrict weapons south of the Litani River, and I assured them of our firm determination to implement the second phase of the plan and the stages that follow," he added.

The Quintet comprises the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.

"The objective of this visit was to discuss numerous issues that have surfaced recently, foremost among them the economic reforms adopted by the government, as well as the financial regularity plan (financial gap draft law) submitted by the government to parliament,” Egyptian Ambassador Alaa Moussa told reporters after the talks on behalf of the Quintet.

“We expressed our confidence in the Prime Minister and the Lebanese government to His Excellency. Addressing economic obligations is an absolute necessity; the Financial Regularity Law is a step in the right direction toward restoring the confidence of international institutions and economic partners. We hope that when the bill is introduced in parliament, it receives constructive and objective debate to reach a conclusion that meets the Lebanese state’s aspirations and vision," Moussa said.

"We also discussed … the conclusion of the first phase of restricting weapons south of the Litani River. The government is determined to launch the second phase at the beginning of February. We reaffirmed that the Quintet members are true friends of Lebanon, standing by the state and its institutions,” the ambassador added.

“Regarding the restriction of weapons, we believe the Lebanese state and the Lebanese Army are progressing well," he said.

Asked about the timeline for finalizing the arms monopolization plan, Moussa said: "General Aoun and Prime Minister Salam have both emphasized the need to conclude this matter as quickly as possible. We expect a plan for the second phase to be presented early next month. The state’s actions thus far are encouraging, and our assessment of the first phase is positive. There are no specific deadlines, but there is a shared urgency to finalize this file."

As for the Egyptian initiative for de-escalation with Israel, Moussa revealed that the Egyptian efforts are still ongoing. “Our sole goal is to create conditions that reduce tensions. Through coordination with our partners, we have succeeded to some extent in preventing a wider escalation,” Moussa said.

“However, these efforts can only succeed if they are matched by the Lebanese state’s performance, particularly regarding the restriction of weapons. The synergy between the Lebanese Army’s role and Egyptian diplomatic efforts is yielding results, and we hope this continues," the ambassador added.