French President Emmanuel Macron says that France backs the ceasefire in Lebanon after the announcement that an agreement was reached in Washington.
“We support the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel and all measures aimed at restoring peace, combating terrorist activities and fully respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon,” he said. “The United States and France stand together.”
Speaking to a news conference in Montenegro, Macron said a coordination mechanism had been established between the US and France to plan the ceasefire and “monitor and ensure its implementation.”
The French president also said France wanted to “assess the means of restoring Lebanese sovereignty to regain the monopoly on the use of weapons”, suggesting that Hezbollah relinquish its arms to the Lebanese army.
Macron listed the following as priorities now that a new ceasefire agreement has been signed by Lebanese and Israeli officials: a monopoly on weapons by the Lebanese army, Lebanese territorial integrity and sovereignty and maintaining the ceasefire for a lasting peace.
Hezbollah has not yet agreed to the ceasefire, and its chief Naim Qassem earlier today slammed it as a “defeat” for Lebanon.