Egypt, Cyprus Agree to Strengthen Military Cooperation

Askar met Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, in the presence of the Cypriot Minister of Defense, the Commander of the Cyprus National Guard, and a number of officials and senior leaders of the armed forces. (Egypt’s military spokesperson)
Askar met Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, in the presence of the Cypriot Minister of Defense, the Commander of the Cyprus National Guard, and a number of officials and senior leaders of the armed forces. (Egypt’s military spokesperson)
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Egypt, Cyprus Agree to Strengthen Military Cooperation

Askar met Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, in the presence of the Cypriot Minister of Defense, the Commander of the Cyprus National Guard, and a number of officials and senior leaders of the armed forces. (Egypt’s military spokesperson)
Askar met Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, in the presence of the Cypriot Minister of Defense, the Commander of the Cyprus National Guard, and a number of officials and senior leaders of the armed forces. (Egypt’s military spokesperson)

Lieutenant-General Osama Askar, Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, concluded on Saturday an official visit to Cyprus, where he discussed the means to consolidate military cooperation.

The military spokesman for the Egyptian Armed Forces said that Askar met Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in the presence of the Cypriot Minister of Defense, the Commander of the Cyprus National Guard, and a number of officials and senior leaders of the armed forces.

In a statement, the spokesman said that the Cypriot president praised the relations with Egypt and the convergence of views between the two countries, especially with regard to the development of bilateral military cooperation.

Anastasiades praised Egypt's influential and effective role, which he said aims to achieve security and stability in the Middle East and the region.

The Egyptian military spokesman said that Askar met with Charalambos Petrides, Minister of Defense of Cyprus. He stressed to him “the need to continue coordination between Egypt and Cyprus to achieve more cooperation in the defense and security fields, joint exercises, and exchange of experiences between the two countries’ armed forces.”

Petrides, for his part, pointed to the “importance of coordination and joint action to face challenges, in order to achieve stability in the region.”

The visit saw a session of talks between the Egyptian and Cypriot delegations, which touched on a number of issues of common interest.



Lebanon's PM Says Country to Begin Disarming South Litani to Ensure State Presence

President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
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Lebanon's PM Says Country to Begin Disarming South Litani to Ensure State Presence

President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that the state will begin disarming southern Lebanon, particularly the south Litani region, to establish its presence across the country.
"We are in a new phase - in this new phase, we will start with south Lebanon and south Litani specifically in order to pull weapons so that the state can be present across Lebanese territory," Mikati said.

Mikati's remarks followed a meeting with newly elected President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Presidential Palace. Aoun was elected as the country's new head of state by parliament on Thursday, ending a vacancy in the presidency that had persisted for over two years.

In his address to parliament, Aoun pledged to control weapons outside the state's control, saying the government is the sole entity authorized to possess and use military force and weapons.
A ceasefire agreement that ended the 13-month-conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in November has given the Lebanese party 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces are also required to withdraw from the area over the same period.
The ceasefire agreement says Israeli forces will move south of the Blue Line “in a phased manner” within 60 days. The Lebanese army’s troops will deploy “in parallel” to the positions.