The roadmap proposed by Paris to end the armed conflict between Hezbollah and Israel was reportedly handed over to the Lebanese authorities on Monday. The move follows French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné’s visit to Lebanon, on Sunday. Beirut was the first leg of a regional tour that includes Saudi Arabia, where the French minister is currently holding talks with Saudi officials, and Israel.
According to the daily An-Nahar, “At 7 PM (Monday), the French embassy handed over to President Berry the French document aimed at finding a peaceful and diplomatic solution (a ceasefire) to the war in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.”
Earlier in the afternoon, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati received the French ambassador to Lebanon, Hervé Magro, at the Serail. The diplomat discussed with Mr. Mikati “the results of yesterday’s (Sunday) visit to Lebanon by the French Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjourné, and new French ideas regarding the situation in South Lebanon,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s office.
Western diplomatic sources, contacted by This is Beirut, would not confirm or deny the handover of the document to Mr. Berry, saying it was up to the Lebanese authorities to “confirm and share this information.”
The same source indicated that the French ambassador’s visit to the Serail was “protocolary” and that it was “normal for Mr. Magro to evaluate Mr. Séjourné’s visit with the Prime Minister.”
France, Lebanon’s long-standing partner, has been engaged for months in a mission of good offices to prevent the war between Hezbollah and Israel on the southern front from spreading to the whole country, notably through a ceasefire and the application of Security Council Resolution 1701.
