French President Emmanuel Macron has offered his country to host talks between Lebanon and Israel, Politico reported.
According to Macron, Lebanon is ready to "hold direct talks" with Israel, suggesting they be held in Paris.
He added that he had spoken with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and House of Representatives Speaker Nabih Berri.
"All components of the country must be represented in these discussions. "Israel must seize this opportunity to start negotiations and declare a ceasefire, find a lasting solution and allow the Lebanese authorities to fulfill their commitments to Lebanon's sovereignty," the French president stressed.
He added that "Hezbollah" must immediately stop its reckless offensive. Israel must refrain from launching a large-scale offensive and end its massive airstrikes, especially since hundreds of thousands of people have already fled the bombings," Emmanuel Macron added.
Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have escalated in the past two weeks, since the Iranian-backed militant group "Hezbollah" fired missiles at Israel following US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. Israel responded with a series of retaliatory strikes against Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold direct talks in the coming days – the first since the start of the war with Iran, which has drawn Lebanon deeper into the conflict, the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported today, citing two sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will participate in the negotiations, which could be held in Paris or Cyprus, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's confidant, Ron Dermer, will head the Israeli delegation, "Haaretz" reported.