Arms shipment to Lebanon to arrive in April
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has announced that the first arms shipment of the Saudi grant, which has been stalled for more than year, will arrive to Lebanon on April 1.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius declared that the first shipment of arms to the Lebanese army as part of the Saudi grant will arrive on April 1 — April Fool's Day — continuing the joke on Lebanon.
The Saudi grant, which was announced on Dec. 29, 2013, is now more than 400 days old, and the senior French official chose the only day regarded by both the Lebanese and the French as a joke to implement it.
A Lebanese government source confirmed that the Saudi grant to provide the Lebanese army with French weapons and military equipment worth $3 billion has been at a standstill since its announcement. He also believes that the situation will drag on for a long time to come.
The source, who spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said that this deal has been riddled with political, legal, administrative and operational challenges from the very moment it was declared — and this was done unilaterally, in conflict with the usual formal norms and standards in Lebanon.
