Turkey ready to participate in post-UNIFIL force in Lebanon, Erdogan tells Aoun
Aoun paid a one-day visit to Ankara amid Lebanon's push to secure an Israeli withdrawal and end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday that Ankara was ready to join efforts to maintain security in southern Lebanon after the UN peacekeeping mission ends by the end of 2026.
Details: Aoun paid a one-day visit to Ankara, his first since taking office in January 2025.
“I know that this visit will mark the beginning of a new era,” Aoun said during the trip, the first by a Lebanese president in nearly nine years.
The exchange comes as the United States seeks to shore up a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the planned withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping force is also raising questions over future security arrangements.
