Macron to press Lebanon ceasefire and sovereignty in Paris talks
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 Tuesday in Paris with Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Macron's office said.
Pakistan is preparing for a new round of talks between the U.S. and Iran as the ceasefire is set to expire Wednesday, while Lebanon and Israel are 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.
The meeting at the Elysee presidential palace comes after the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, came under attack from small arms fire Saturday, leaving one French peacekeeper dead and three others wounded, two of them seriously.
Both Macron and the UNIFIL force blamed Hezbollah, but the Lebanese militant group denied involvement.
Macron 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.
Earlier Tuesday, Salam made a stop in Luxembourg for a meeting of EU foreign ministers that was to address the situation in the Middle East.
On March 2, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran, Hezbollah entered the fray by firing missiles across the border. 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.
That changed 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.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was announced by the U.S. on Thursday. The U.S. 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.
Source: Associated Press
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