France’s Macron and Lebanon’s Salam urge negotiations to shore up ceasefire in Lebanon

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Tuesday urged for negotiations to shore up a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon and called on Israel to respect its neighbor’s territorial integrity after talks in Paris.

Their appeal came as Pakistan was preparing to host a new round of talks between the United States and Iran as the ceasefire is to expire on Wednesday, while Lebanon and Israel are to hold a new meeting in Washington later this week.

The U.S.-Iran talks looked increasingly uncertain late Tuesday after U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who was expected to lead U.S. negotiator, called off a trip to Pakistan, and Iran said it hadn’t decided whether to participate.

“We should allow time for negotiations and not let the war resume,” Macron said, adding that consolidating the truce in Lebanon was an immediate priority.

Broader regional stability, Macron said, “can only be achieved through an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the disarmament of Hezbollah,” an Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.

Salam said Lebanon remains committed to direct negotiations with Israel.

“We are continuing along this path, convinced that diplomacy is not a sign of weakness but a responsible act,” he said, adding that the talks would require sustained international support.

Still, Salam insisted that “there can be no lasting stability without a complete Israeli withdrawal” from Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah began firing missiles into Israel in early March, just two days after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran. Israel had responded with heavy bombardment and a ground invasion.

The meeting at the Elysee presidential palace came after the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, came under attack from small arms fire on Saturday, leaving one French peacekeeper dead and three others wounded, two of them seriously.

Both Macron and the UNIFIL force have blamed Hezbollah, which has denied involvement.

Macron said France is ready to maintain its military on the ground, alongside international partners, in a potential follow-up force that could take over from UNIFIL. The peacekeeper mission’s term expires at the end of the year, in line with a vote of the U.N. Security Council in August.

Earlier Tuesday, Salam attended a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg focused on the Middle East. The 27-member bloc’s policy toward Israel has divided the EU and stymied unified action.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun later proposed direct negotiations with Israel — the first in decades — in exchange for a halt in hostilities, an offer initially rejected. Momentum shifted after a U.S.-Iran truce announcement and Pakistan-brokered talks between the two sides.

Lebanon and Israel held their first direct talks in decades last week in Washington, after more than a month of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iran has insisted any ceasefire agreement must extend to Lebanon and warned it would not reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz otherwise.

The U.S. announced a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on Thursday, describing it as a result of Israel-Lebanon talks.

Hezbollah, which opposed those talks and was not involved, said the ceasefire stemmed from Iranian pressure rather than the negotiations.