<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, concluded this Tuesday her two-day official visit to Beirut, in which she reiterated before the president of the country, General Joseph Aoun, and her Lebanese counterpart, Maurice Sleem, Spain's support for the stability of the country through its contingent in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).</strong></h4> Robles' trip to Lebanon began on Monday with a visit to the 'Miguel de Cervantes' Base, in Marjayoun, where the headquarters of the Multinational Brigade in the Eastern Sector of UNIFIL is located, led by the Spanish general Fernando Ruiz Gómez, and where there are nearly 700 Spanish soldiers. This is Robles' first trip to a mission abroad in 2025 and it comes just one week before the end of the ceasefire agreed on November 27 by Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. During the meeting with Joseph Aoun, according to the Ministry of Defense, Robles received "recognition and gratitude" from the Lebanese leader for the work carried out by Spanish soldiers and Spanish Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro, current commander-in-chief of UNIFIL. Likewise, both highlighted the importance of the work carried out by the UN mission, "work that has been especially intense in this last year and that allows us to find ourselves in a ceasefire scenario that is an opportunity to achieve the peace that is so needed in this territory." The minister also took advantage of the meeting with Joseph Aoun to reaffirm Spain's support for stability in southern Lebanon, according to the official Lebanese news agency, NNA. The meeting was attended by the Spanish ambassador to Lebanon, Jesús Santos Aguado, and Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro, among others. Later, Margarita Robles was received by her counterpart, Maurice Sleem, to whom she conveyed all the support of the Spanish Government to Lebanon. “We will continue working within the framework of that close, joint and trusting relationship that we have maintained since our troops have been in the country,” she said. Also, according to NNA, Robles highlighted Spain's continued support to Lebanon, especially through UNIFIL, and the “vital role played by the Spanish contingent in maintaining stability in southern Lebanon.” In the same vein, Sleem expressed his gratitude for Spain's constant support to Lebanon and highlighted the work of the Spanish contingent in the UN mission. The Lebanese minister also stressed the Lebanese Army's commitment to cooperate with UNIFIL, particularly in light of Israel's continued violations of Lebanese sovereignty and breaches of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and reaffirmed his government's demand that Israeli forces withdraw from the south of the country by the deadline of January 26, 2025. Robles' trip comes five days after the official visit to Beirut by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, who was received by Joseph Aoun; by Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate, Nawaf Salam; by acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati; by his Lebanese counterpart, Abdallah Bou Habib; and by the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri. Spain's participation in UNIFIL began in September 2006, as part of Operation Libre Hidalgo in southern Lebanon to contribute to the implementation of United Nations Resolution 1701. Since then, the Spanish Armed Forces have led the Eastern Sector of the mission from the Miguel de Cervantes base. The Spanish contingent is made up of almost 700 men and women. To these must be added some 200 from Serbia, El Salvador and Brazil. All of them form BRILIB XLII and, together with the battalions from India, Indonesia and Nepal, make up the UNIFIL Multinational Brigade East, commanded by the general in charge of BRILIB XLII, Brigadier General Fernando Ruiz Gómez, with more than 3,500 peacekeepers of eight different nationalities.
