President Macron offers Paris as the venue for direct negotiations on a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon. He says Beirut is ready to negotiate and stresses the urgency of peace.
France is ready to mediate direct negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in Paris, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Saturday. According to him, Beirut is willing to negotiate, writes TASR.
“The Lebanese government has expressed its willingness to engage in direct negotiations with Israel. France is ready to facilitate these talks and host them in Paris,” Macron wrote on the social network X. He added that he had already spoken about this initiative with Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Awn and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
Call for a truce
At the same time, the French president emphasized that the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement must “immediately stop its reckless escalation of tensions.” Israel, on the other hand, must abandon any large-scale offensive and stop massive attacks on Lebanon, Macron pointed out.
Iran-backed Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East war when it attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes. Israel responded by launching airstrikes in Lebanon and deploying troops in border areas. As a result of the fighting in Lebanon, more than 850,000 people have already been displaced and nearly 800 have died.
