President Michel Aoun received on Tuesday French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly at Baabda palace, where he praised the friendship and cooperation relations between Lebanon and France, underlining his wish to bolster them at all levels.
He also hailed France's support for the Lebanese army and contribution to the United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon (UNIFIL).
the President reiterated Lebanon's commitment to UN resolution 1701, indicating that the situation is stable along the Lebanese southern borders, while contacts on border demarcation negotiations, led by the US through envoy David Satterfield, are still underway.
Also, Aoun maintained that "Lebanon holds onto the importance of the return of the Syrian refugees to their country without waiting for the political solution to the Syrian crisis,” reiterating that the larger part of Syrian has become stable while the tension has been narrowed down to less than 10% of the country.
The president stated that the return operations of the Syrian refugees who wish to return are ongoing, and the number of Syrian who already left Lebanon reached 300,000, explaining that the Lebanese authorities has not received any reports of them being under any kind of pressure.