British News Agency

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said he welcomed the European Union’s decision to establish a new mission to provide training and support to the Lebanese Armed Forces and internal security forces, including in border control.

Prevot said the seizure of a large quantity of explosives in Lebanon demonstrated the importance of efforts to bring weapons under state control, adding that he supported the work of Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Prevot stressed that the Lebanese state should have exclusive authority over the use of force throughout the country and called for full compliance with the Israel-Lebanon Framework Agreement. He said the process of disarming Hezbollah should be carried out alongside respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Prevot said their goal was a Lebanon that safeguards its sovereignty, has strong democratic institutions, controls all of its territory and remains free from the threat of renewed war.