Minister Guido Crosetto meets the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Joseph Aoun

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Defence Minister Guido Crosetto today met with the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Joseph Aoun.

“Lebanon plays a fundamental role for stability in the Middle East and Mediterranean, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are essential to security in the area, especially now, in light of current tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, following Hamas’ terrorist attack against the State of Israel, last 7 October”, Minister Crosetto said during the meeting, where the strong friendly bonds between Italy and Lebanon were underscored , confirming Italy’s commitment, testified by the bilateral training mission, MIBIL, and by its participation in the United Mission UNIFIL mission with a contingent of approximately 1,000 military.

“The Blue Helmets – the minister continued- play a fundamental role in the peace process and protecting the Lebanese people. That is why Italy will continue to offer its support to the mission, aiming to prevent the deterioration of the situation and limit every possible spreading of the conflict. However – the minister underscored- at difficult times like the current ones, it is necessary for the LAFs to become even stronger and able to guarantee territorial control, protecting the Lebanese people from terrorist drifts while preventing the conflict from spreading, with disastrous consequences. Admiral Cavo Dragone initiative, which engaged General Aoun and the Chiefs of Defence Staffs of the more interested countries, was instrumental to establish a common vision and develop coordinated initiatives to LAF’s benefit”.