Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron is set to reaffirm France’s full commitment to the ceasefire in Lebanon and its support for the country’s territorial integrity during talks in Paris on Tuesday with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, according to the French presidency.
The discussions come as Pakistan prepares for a new round of talks between the United States and Iran ahead of the ceasefire’s expected expiry on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold another round of talks in Washington later this week.
Macron and Salam are also expected to address humanitarian assistance for displaced populations, alongside the continuation of economic and financial reforms deemed essential for strengthening Lebanon’s sovereignty, reconstruction, and long-term recovery.
The meeting at the Élysée Palace follows a deadly attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon on Saturday. The peacekeeping force came under small arms fire, leaving one French peacekeeper dead and three others wounded, two of them seriously.
Both Macron and UNIFIL attributed the attack to Hezbollah, though the militant group has denied any involvement. Macron has urged Lebanese authorities to conduct a thorough investigation, calling for those responsible to be identified and prosecuted without delay. He stressed that UN peacekeepers “must under no circumstances be targeted.”
Earlier in the day, Salam attended a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg, where the situation in the Middle East was a key focus.
Tensions in the region escalated on March 2, when Hezbollah entered the conflict by launching missiles across the border, two days after the United States and Israel initiated military action against Iran. Israel responded with a sustained bombing campaign and a ground offensive.
In a significant diplomatic move, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun предложed direct negotiations with Israel — the first in decades — in exchange for a cessation of hostilities, though the proposal was initially rejected.
The stance shifted following the announcement of a truce between Iran and the United States, along with renewed talks between the two sides brokered by Pakistan.
Lebanon and Israel subsequently held their first direct diplomatic engagement in decades last week in Washington, following over a month of conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Iran, however, has maintained that any ceasefire agreement must extend to Lebanon and warned it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz otherwise.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was announced by the United States on Thursday, which described the deal as an outcome of the Israel-Lebanon talks. Hezbollah, which opposed direct negotiations with Israel and did not participate in the discussions, has insisted the ceasefire was the result of Iranian pressure rather than the diplomatic engagement.
With PTI inputs