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French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné held talks with several Lebanese officials Tuesday, during which he affirmed France’s support to the Lebanese Army and reiterated calls for restraint in South Lebanon, the theater of persisting violence between Hezbollah and Israel for almost four months now.
Séjourné arrived in Beirut Tuesday morning on the second leg of a regional tour that has taken him to Israel, with the aim of discussing possible solutions for restoring calm in Gaza as well as on Lebanon’s border with Israel.
A French diplomatic source affirmed in comments made to This Is Beirut that French diplomacy “is continuing in the same vein, calling for restraint to avoid escalation on the southern border.”
For Paris, the legal framework for negotiations and restoring calm on the southern border “already exists,” namely through the full and comprehensive implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel,” the source said. “Resolution 1701 is very clear, and the role and mandate of the UN peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, are well-defined, as are the operational modalities for redeploying the Lebanese army, keeping the peace and eliminating Hezbollah’s military presence south of the Litani River,” the source added.
Séjourné’s busy schedule started with meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He then held talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib, after which he met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
The head of French diplomacy, who concluded his one-day visit to Lebanon by meeting Army Commander-in-Chief General Jospeh Aoun, stressed, after the encounter, “the importance of the army’s role in preserving Lebanon’s security and stability under the current circumstances.”
According to the source, Séjourné reaffirmed to the Army Commander “France’s support for the Lebanese army,” reassuring the Lebanese state that “if there is a need for training and equipment to reinforce the Lebanese military, France will be there, as it has always been.”
Under Resolution 1701, the Lebanese army is supposed to be redeployed on the southern border to restore calm and stability with UNIFIL’s support. But the Lebanese state says it could not deploy the army due to the lack of personnel and equipment.
French diplomacy has been particularly active in trying to prevent an all-out escalation in South Lebanon by insisting on a comprehensive and proper application of Resolution 1701 by both sides, which also entails a cessation of Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace. It is not playing the role of a “mere postman” transmitting Israeli messages threatening Lebanon, as occasionally alleged, but that of a country with enough influence and power which can help put an end to tensions on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
