Tebboune Discusses His Expected Visited to France with Macron

The Algerian and French presidents in Algeria in August 2022. (Algerian Presidency)
The Algerian and French presidents in Algeria in August 2022. (Algerian Presidency)
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Tebboune Discusses His Expected Visited to France with Macron

The Algerian and French presidents in Algeria in August 2022. (Algerian Presidency)
The Algerian and French presidents in Algeria in August 2022. (Algerian Presidency)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has discussed with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron his expected visit to France.
The Algerian presidency said that the two presidents exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the new year.
The state visit of Tebboune to France is "still the subject of preparations", affirmed the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Attaf, specifying that it depends on the settlement of five files.
Attaf listed the issues of memory, mobility, economic cooperation, the French nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara, as well as the return of symbolic belongings of Emir Abdelkader - the founder of the modern Algerian state.
Ties between France and Algeria have been frosty since the statements made by Macron in October 2021 when he questioned whether Algeria had existed as a nation before French colonialism.
The fact that French intelligence evacuated Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui from Tunisia to France in 2023 also caused tension in the ties between both countries.
At the beginning of August, Tebboune declared that his state visit to France was "still maintained" but depended "on the program" of the Élysée, specifying that a "state visit has conditions" and "no "It's not a tourist visit."
In August 2022, Macron arrived in Algeria hoping to repair fractured relations with a nation whose oil and gas reserves have new strategic significance because of Europe's looming energy crisis.
Moreover, Tebboune made a phone call with his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied.
They discussed bilateral cooperation and ways to develop it in all fields, in addition to international and regional issues of mutual interest.
On Sunday evening, the Algerian president promised as he addressed the Algerian people that the year 2024 would be full of achievements.
“We are today bidding farewell to the year 2023, which was rich in achievements and during which our beloved country has made great strides to achieve development in different fields,” said Tebboune.
On this occasion, the President of the Republic called on the Algerians to “continue the efforts, everyone at his level, to raise our country to higher ranks, so that the year 2024 will be full of achievements that will pave the way for our country to position itself among the developed countries.”
Algeria has allocated a budget that exceeds $110 billion for the year 2024. This is the biggest budget in the country’s history.



EU Won’t Pull back UN Troops from South Lebanon, Austrian Minister Says

Armored vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are pictured during a patrol around Marjayoun in south Lebanon on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
Armored vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are pictured during a patrol around Marjayoun in south Lebanon on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
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EU Won’t Pull back UN Troops from South Lebanon, Austrian Minister Says

Armored vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are pictured during a patrol around Marjayoun in south Lebanon on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
Armored vehicles of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are pictured during a patrol around Marjayoun in south Lebanon on October 8, 2024. (AFP)

European Union countries that contribute to UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL in Lebanon have no intention of pulling back from the south of the country despite Israeli calls to do so, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said.

Since an Israeli ground operation against Hezbollah militants began on Oct. 1, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) positions have come under fire and two Israeli tanks burst through the gates of one of its bases, the UN says. Five peacekeepers have been injured.

Sixteen EU countries, including Austria, contribute to UNIFIL and the recent incidents have sparked widespread alarm among European governments.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN to withdraw UNIFIL "from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones".

But Schallenberg, summarizing a discussion among EU foreign ministers on Monday, said European nations were not minded to pull troops back or out.

"There was no debate about pulling back or whatever," he told Reuters in an interview in Brussels.

"They are there to stay but the security and the safety of our troops is paramount and has to be ensured by everybody," said Schallenberg, whose country has about 160 soldiers in UNIFIL.

European nations contribute about 3,600 troops to the 10,000-strong force.

EU contributors plan to hold a video call on Wednesday on their current posture and the longer-term role of the mission when it comes to troop levels, equipment and rules of engagement, according to European officials.

Israeli officials have said their forces are not deliberately targeting UNIFIL, but Hezbollah has used peacekeepers’ positions as cover for attacks and Israel has a right to respond.

Schallenberg said Israel had a right to defend itself against Hezbollah but even unintentional attacks on peacekeeping positions were a breach of international law.

"There's a clear demand on Israel to be very cautious on this," he said in the interview, which took place late on Tuesday afternoon.