Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Dr. Abdallah Bou Habib, received this afternoon the French Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjourné, who is currently on a brief visit to Lebanon as part of efforts to calm tensions in the region and prevent escalation. The visit coincided with the resumption of French airlines’ flights to Beirut.
Both ministers discussed the situation in southern Lebanon and the ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, particularly the talks taking place in Doha today, in addition to the issue of extending UNIFIL’s mandate in south Lebanon.
The bilateral meeting was followed by expanded talks with members of the French delegation and French Ambassador to Lebanon, Hervé Magro, attending.
Minister Bou Habib stressed that “reaching a ceasefire in Gaza is of great importance to Lebanon due to its direct repercussions on the situation on its southern borders,” underlining that “if ceasefire efforts falter, other solutions must be sought to put an end to the Israeli
aggression.”
Bou Habib emphasized “Lebanon’s commitment to extending UNIFIL’s mandate for another year, not less, given the importance of its role in southern Lebanon,” and renewed the Lebanese government’s readiness to strengthen the presence of the Lebanese army in the south. He also called on the member states of the Security Council to agree to extend UNIFIL’s mandate without introducing any amendments.
The Foreign Minister thanked his French counterpart for his visit “at this sensitive and critical time that the region is going through, as it is a message of French support and keen concern for Lebanon, to avoid escalation on its southern borders.”
In turn, the French Foreign Minister stressed that his visit “is a message of support to Lebanon and a firm French commitment to stand by the Lebanese people in a delicate and dangerous circumstance that their country is going through.”
He stressed that “a ceasefire in Gaza is more than essential to avoid escalation in the region, but it should not be the o
nly condition to avoid this escalation,” underlining that “diplomatic efforts and endeavors must be intensified to calm tensions and prevent the outbreak of a war in the region that no one wants.”
Séjourné considered that “the continued exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel during the Doha talks that began today does not send good messages,” hoping that the parties to the conflict “will not resort to escalation throughout the talks,” which he hoped would be “honest and succeed in reaching an agreement.”
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon