Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asked Greece on Monday to put pressure Israel to fully honor a US-brokered agreement meant to end hostilities between the two countries, hours after Athens signed a multibillion-dollar arms deal with Israel.
Meeting Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas, Aoun said the framework “must be implemented by both sides, not selectively, but in full,” and appealed for Athens’ help in ending Israel’s presence in south Lebanon. “We request Greece’s assistance as much as possible to help Lebanon,” he said, adding that Lebanon and its people “are tired of wars.”
The visit came the same day Greece and Israel signed the “Achilles Shield” agreement, a roughly $3.5 billion deal, and the largest defense arrangement in the two countries’ history. Under the agreement, Israeli firms Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries will build Athens a multilayered air-defense network using the David’s Sling, SPYDER and Barak MX systems.
Lebanon and Israel struck their framework deal in June, calling for Hezbollah’s disarmament, a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and deployment of the Lebanese army in “pilot zones.” Implementation has stalled: Israel has kept troops in a buffer zone covering an area Israeli and Lebanese sources estimate at roughly 6% to 10% of Lebanese territory, while Hezbollah has rejected the deal because it sets no timetable for an Israeli pullout.
Aoun said Israeli strikes since fighting escalated in March have killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon, wounded over 12,000, and destroyed dozens of villages. “Solving the problem by military force will not succeed,” he cautioned.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis affirmed his country’s support for “the sovereignty, independence and unity of Lebanon.” Aoun also asked for Greek backing at the United Nations, where Lebanon is pushing to renew the mandate of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, which expires at year’s end and which Washington and Israel oppose extending. A seventh round of Lebanon-Israel talks concluded earlier this month, with an eighth round expected in September.
