Lebanon has responded officially to the “modified” French initiative aimed at de-escalating violence on the southern front and eventually paving the way for a sustainable and durable settlement along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Reports that circulated in the media alleging that the initiative had been rejected by Hezbollah, a stance conveyed by the Speaker of Parliament and Hezbollah ally, Nabih Berri, were refuted as “unfounded” by a French diplomatic source in comments made to This is Beirut.
“We are not conducting negotiations between the belligerents, what we are proposing is a process of consultations and taking the opinion of the two parties,” the source said.
He pointed out that the French move has two main objectives, “firstly, showing the belligerents that a diplomatic solution is possible, and secondly, having an official response from the Lebanese government.”
The Lebanese response included observations on the form, content, and structure of the document, which the source noted “are not in themselves negative.”
“We’re pushing the Israeli government to make their observations in parallel, in order to end up with a functional paper for the day after the hostilities cease,” he said.
He added that France is well aware that there will be no ceasefire in southern Lebanon before an end to hostilities in Gaza, but believes that its diplomatic action “has helped to avoid (an open) war, at least for the time being.”
France’s efforts are closely coordinated with Washington, but the French approach is more dynamic, even if no outcome is expected before the end of the conflict in Gaza.
“We’re going to try to reach as much consensus as possible on a formula that is none other than UN Resolution 1701, and to have it implemented in a more lasting and stable way than it was from 2006 to 2023,“ the source concluded.
