Seventeen countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Cyprus, have called on Lebanon and Israel to “seize the opportunity” of direct peace negotiations scheduled to take place in Washington. In a joint statement, the countries welcomed the initiative by President Joseph Aoun to begin direct negotiations with Israel, as well as the Israeli side’s agreement to participate in the US-mediated talks.
“We welcome the initiative by President Joseph Aoun to begin direct negotiations with Israel and the fact that Israel agreed to start these negotiations under US mediation. We call on both sides to seize this opportunity,” the 17 countries wrote in their joint statement. Among the countries co-signing the statement are France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Greece, Cyprus, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Washington is hosting direct peace talks today, the first since 1993, between representatives of Lebanon and Israel but with one major absentee, Hezbollah.
“The continuation of war in Lebanon endangers the current regional de-escalation”, the 17 countries state in their joint declaration
“The continuation of war in Lebanon endangers the current regional de-escalation, which we have welcomed and which must be fully respected by all parties,” the 17 countries emphasize. The statement also condemns “in the most categorical way the Hezbollah attacks against Israel” as well as “the massive Israeli attacks carried out in Lebanon on April 8, which, according to the latest information shared by Lebanese authorities, killed more than 350 people and wounded more than 1,000.”
