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UNIFIL successor talks
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey wants to participate in a new security initiative for Lebanon when the 7,500-member UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon expires at the end of the year, as UNIFIL’s mandate is set to end.
“Turkey is interested in participating in a new security initiative for Lebanon when the 7,500-member UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon expires at the end of the year”
Speaking alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Ankara, Erdogan said, “After the withdrawal of the current international force, Turkey wants to take part in all initiatives that will be launched to support security in the region and ensure Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
The Associated Press-reported context is that the UN Security Council voted unanimously last year to terminate UNIFIL after demands from Israel and the US, with Israel saying the 48-year-old mission failed to prevent Hezbollah’s military buildup.
Erdogan also said, “The end of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, deployed in southern Lebanon, will constitute an important development,” while Aoun said he wants relations with Turkey to become “more present and more ambitious” at a “crucial moment.”
Reactions and competing plans
Erdogan’s push for Turkey’s role comes as the UN considers options for a UNIFIL successor force, with France and Italy also voicing interest, though it remains unclear whether any replacement would be under a UN mandate.
In the same joint press statement reported by Ynetnews, Erdogan said, “The end of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, deployed in southern Lebanon, will constitute an important development,” while Aoun framed the visit as “the beginning of a new phase in Lebanese-Turkish relations, with the themes of partnership, trust and joint action.”
The AP-reported political backdrop includes a U.S.-mediated “framework agreement” reached on June 26, under which IDF are to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Hezbollah militant group.
Other reporting in the set says the UN Security Council set December 2026 as the end date for UNIFIL’s mandate, and that UNIFIL comprises about 7,500 peacekeepers from around 50 countries deployed near the border with Israel.
What’s at stake next
Erdogan linked Turkey’s prospective security role to Lebanon’s sovereignty and to support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, saying Turkey would continue backing the army “in the security context” as UNIFIL ends.
““Of course, our support for the Lebanese Armed Forces will continue in the security context,” Erdogan said.”
In the Times of Israel report, Erdogan pledged that “Of course, our support for the Lebanese Armed Forces will continue in the security context,” while he also urged increased dialogue between Lebanon and Syria as beneficial for both countries.
Other sources in the set describe the stakes in reconstruction and displacement, with Türkiye Today saying Erdogan told Aoun that more than 4,300 Lebanese have been killed, over 2,000 wounded and 1 million people forced from their homes since Israel’s attacks on Lebanon began on March 2, 2026.
Aoun, in the same Türkiye Today reporting, said Lebanon is working for “the complete withdrawal of Israel from Lebanese territory, the return of the displaced to their homes, reconstruction and the revival of the economy,” and he vowed to recover “every inch” of Lebanese territory under “one state, one army and one authority.”
