Cyprus announces $18M military donation for the Lebanese Army.

Cyprus announced Wednesday the donation of more than 15 million euros (18.55 million U.S. dollars) in aid to the Lebanese army.

Lebanese soldiers deploying from M113 armoured personnal carrier
(Credit: Lebanese Armed Forces)

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulidis announced the donation following the meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil at the Boustros Palace in Beirut, the Daily Star reported on its website.

"We participated in Rome II and decided to support Lebanon via military equipment to the Lebanese army, worth over 15 million euros," Christodoulidis said following the meeting.

For his part, Bassil said that Lebanon will begin exporting snails to Cyprus. 

Cyprus hopes to strengthen the Lebanese army to stop the spread of violence over the border from neighboring Syria and help it become the sole military force defending the country.

"The Cypriot foreign minister informed us that the export of Lebanese snails to Cyprus has been permitted," Bassil said.