By Gad Taim
BEIRUT
Saudi Arabia and France will sign a $3-billion agreement on Tuesday to provide weapons and military equipment to the Lebanese army, a Lebanese military source has said.
"The weapons will fulfill the Lebanese army's needs for armored vehicles, machineguns, anti-armor shells and anti-aircraft weapons," the source, requesting anonymity, told Anadolu Agency on Monday.
The source said that military talks between Lebanon and France would "officially" start once the agreement was signed.
According to the source, the French government has not "vetoed" any weapons requested by the Lebanese army.
"France, however, has not yet replied to the weapons [wish] list," the source said.
In August, former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri said Riyadh had offered $1 billion for the purchase of weapons for the Lebanese army.
In January, Saudi Arabia unveiled $3 billion in grants for the Lebanese army to buy weapons from France.
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