Paris: French president Emmanuel Macron is to reaffirm France’s full commitment to the ceasefire in Lebanon and support for the country’s territorial integrity at a meeting with Lebanon’s prime minister Nawaf Salam, the president’s office said.
This meeting is scheduled even as Pakistan prepares for a new round of talks between the US and Iran as the ceasefire between the two is set to expire on Wednesday.
Lebanon and Israel are also set to hold a new meeting in Washington later this week.
Macron and Salam “will also address humanitarian support for displaced populations and the continuation of the economic and financial reforms essential to strengthening Lebanon’s sovereignty, its reconstruction and the restoration of its prosperity,” Macron’s office said, as reported by AP.
The meeting at the Elysee presidential palace comes in the backdrop of an attack on the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL. One French peacekeeper died and three others were injured in Saturday’s attack.
While Macron and the UNIFIL blamed Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group denied involvement.
The French president has called on Lebanese authorities to “shed full light on the incident” and to “identify and prosecute those responsible without delay”.
“UNIFIL soldiers must, under no circumstances, be targeted,” Macron’s office said.
Salam made a stop in Luxembourg earlier on Tuesday for a meeting of EU foreign ministers that was to address the situation in the Middle East.
Hezbollah entered the fray by firing missiles across the border on March 2, two days after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. Israel responded with an intense bombing campaign and ground invasion.
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun offered direct negotiations with Israel – the first in decades – in exchange for a cessation of hostilities, an offer that was initially rebuffed.
Israel changed its stance after the announcement of a truce between Iran and the United States and talks between the two brokered by Pakistan.
Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades last week in Washington following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Meanwhile, Iran continued to insist that its own ceasefire agreement must extend to Lebanon and said it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz otherwise.
On Thursday, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was announced by the US. The US portrayed the deal as the result of the Israel-Lebanon talks.
Hezbollah, which was opposed to Lebanon holding direct talks with Israel and was not part of those negotiations, insisted that the ceasefire was a result of Iranian pressure and not of the Israel-Lebanon meeting.
