The Tánaiste has praised the decision to allow Irish peacekeepers to stay in Lebanon until 2027, stating that ending the mission abruptly would have created an “extraordinarily dangerous situation,” reports Breaking News.
Simon Harris said it would have been “wholly irresponsible” to consider withdrawing peacekeepers in the near future.
A proposed resolution by France, expected to gain approval from the UN Security Council on Thursday, will extend the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) mission until the close of 2026, reports Breaking News.
After that, a year-long phased withdrawal of the UN peacekeepers will begin, with responsibilities transitioning to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Roughly 350 Irish troops are currently stationed in Lebanon, reports Breaking News.
Although the United States and Israel had pushed for UN forces to be pulled out by next year, negotiations led to a compromise allowing the mission to continue past 2026.
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Harris said: “To be very honest, it’s it’s one of mixed emotion because only months ago, there was a very significant chance, perhaps only weeks ago, that there was going to be an immediate end, that the mandate would not be renewed, that it would not get through the Security Council. My immediate concern as Minister for Defence then was what that would mean for the security of our own troops, for the security of the peacekeepers in general, and for security in the region. We have a very, very long and proud association with the Unifil mission and today, I want to pay tribute to the thousands upon thousands of Irish men and women who have served Oglaigh na hEireann and Unifil with absolute distinction. I particularly think today of the 47 members who paid the ultimate sacrifice, who lost their lives in the cause of peace, and I think of them and their families today with a great sense of gratitude for their proud service,” reports Breaking News.
He told RTÉ Radio 1: “I don’t want speak for the United States of America, far from it, but I think they’ve outlined their views on a number of occasions, including what seems to be a cost containment view that they take to the United Nations and its work in general. However, I must say we did have constructive engagement with the US, and I think we saw the benefit of countries working together, of France, of Austria, of Ireland, of Italy, of Lebanon itself, and indeed, of Unifil officials,” reports Breaking News.
“We said to our American counterparts, yes, you have a perspective, but it would be an extraordinarily dangerous situation to have an abrupt end, an abrupt cliff edge to a peacekeeping mission in a very volatile part of the world. We must remember there’s a relatively new Lebanese government in place, that’s a government that is extremely serious about disarming Hezbollah, is extremely serious about trying to give the people of Lebanon a new start,” reports Breaking News.
“The idea that we, the international community, the peacekeepers of the world would walk away at this moment, would have been wholly, wholly irresponsible. The diplomatic campaign, I think, has gotten us to a much improved situation. And if they say a week is a long time in politics, trying to predict with certainty where we’ll be by the middle or end of 2027 is a very, very challenging thing to do,” reports Breaking News.
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