Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib handed over Lebanon’s response to the French initiative to French Ambassador Hervé Magro on Friday.
He reiterated Lebanon’s stance against the war spreading to its territory and called for the full implementation of UN Resolution 1701.
Bou Habib, who was received later by the head of Parliament, Nabih Berri, stressed that the proposal put forward by France for a settlement on the southern border “contains many positive and acceptable points, as well as points that require further study.”
He emphasized the need to pursue this initiative and add to it, until an agreement could be reached that would ensure stability on the southern border.
This roadmap was presented last February by French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné – who is expected in Beirut shortly – to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
It would involve the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters to a distance of 10 kilometers from the border, as well as the deployment of 15,000 Lebanese army soldiers on the border.
It would be implemented in three stages, the first being a ten-day lull, followed by the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters, then negotiations on the demarcation of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
