A UNIFIL patrol in the South Litani area.

According to a former advisor, the alternative to UNIFIL forces in Lebanon is an American-French force on both sides of the border with Israel, in addition to a Russian-Turkish force on the Syrian-Israeli border.

Earlier, President Michel Aoun confirmed that “there is close cooperation between the Lebanese army and the international forces operating in the south, UNIFIL. By the end of the year, the army’s numbers in the south will reach about 10,000 soldiers, and there will be an urgent need to provide the necessary equipment, vehicles, and gear to enable them to carry out the tasks required under Resolution 1701.”

He considered that “the end of the UNIFIL mission must be smooth and fully coordinated to ensure stability in the south.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Joseph Aoun, received Christian Turner, the Political Director of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and his accompanying delegation who came to Lebanon to inspect the situation in the south on the countdown to the end of the UNIFIL mission, and to review the Lebanese government’s vision for the day after.

The British delegation expressed the United Kingdom’s readiness to provide assistance within any Lebanese framework on this matter, stressing the importance that it be formulated in Lebanon and not in the corridors of the United Nations.

The delegation handed Minister Aoun a copy of old British maps from the British National Archives showing the Lebanese borders with Syria and Israel.