French Minister Séjourné's mission: Bridging perspectives between Israel and Lebanon

 

The message French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné will convey from Israel to Lebanon will not differ from that of British Foreign Secretary David Cameron.

However, Amos Hochstein had conveyed and can convey the issue again regarding the necessity of de-escalating the situation in southern Lebanon, preventing a further slide into war, removing Hezbollah fighters from the thorny border strip, supporting the Lebanese army and deploying them in larger numbers in cooperation with UNIFIL in order to implement Resolution 1701.

Implementing Resolution 1701 is the main subject of the French Foreign Minister's mission in Beirut, where he will arrive on Tuesday and listen to the Israelis' perspectives who want to neutralize Hezbollah's weapons and the return the settlers to the north.

He will carry many ideas related to the implementation of Resolution 1701, expressing that France is committed to playing the role of mediator in any talks related to this matter while realizing the difficulty of accomplishing anything related to Lebanon before a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, according to what the Secretary-General of Hezbollah repeatedly stressed.

While the French Minister will stress his country's continued support for the army and its commitment to work in the UNIFIL forces that are supposed to be neutralized from the conflict, he will also inform the Lebanese of the necessity of accelerating the election of a president of the republic.

France is pursuing efforts in this framework on the unilateral level on the one hand and in the race of the Quintet committee on the other hand, and the French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian is in charge of the details of this file.