A deployment of the Lebanese army in Beirut. (Credit: Archive photo Nabil Ismail/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The U.S. State Department announced Saturday that the United States is ready to provide "more than $30 million" to the Lebanese Armed Forces, following the conclusion of a framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel on Friday in Washington.
In a statement, the State Department reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces so that they can "extend sovereignty over the entire Lebanese territory," noting that the U.S. Department of Defense was "ready to provide the Lebanese army with more than $30 million under existing authorizations and appropriations, in support of the American president's vision to establish lasting peace in Lebanon."
The U.S. State Department also announced $100 million in immediate humanitarian aid. It also praised the "courage" of the Lebanese and Israeli governments, stating it would remain "fully committed to the implementation of the framework agreement and will provide $100 million in immediate humanitarian aid in coordination with the United Nations."
For Washington, this framework "charts a way out of the conflict and establishes a process aimed at restoring Lebanon's sovereignty, disarming Hezbollah and dismantling its infrastructure, while allowing Israel to return to its borders once the threat it poses to its citizens has been eliminated." The department added that the agreement calls for the "creation of the Trilateral Military Coordination Group for Lebanon," overseen and facilitated by the United States, to allow both parties to implement this framework. It considered that this offers Lebanon a path out of its crisis and Israel a realistic way to eliminate the threat on its northern border.
Israel and Lebanon, joined by the United States, signed the framework agreement Friday in Washington with the stated aim of paving the way for "lasting peace and security."
