The United States plans to deliver M-50 tanks to Lebanon in spring next year as part of a commitment to help the country's army, a senior US state department official said in Beirut on Friday. David Hale, US deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, denied the US is in competition with Russia, which announced on Wednesday that it would give Lebanon 10 MiG-29 fighter jets. "Support for the Lebanese Armed Forces remains a pillar of our Lebanon policy," he told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, without saying how many tanks the US will supply. "We are working to provide the training and equipment the LAF needs... to maintain internal security and to fight terrorism in Lebanon," Hale added.