Wadephul announces German-French initiative for Lebanon
Peace efforts in the Middle East and strengthening the EU’s foreign policy are set to top the agenda ahead of next week's Franco-German ministerial council meeting.
Berlin (dpa) – Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has announced a joint German-French initiative for Lebanon. “Together with France, we want to develop a common policy on Lebanon in order to improve the prospects for peace in the Middle East,” he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper ahead of next week’s Franco-German ministerial council meeting.
The minister also announced further joint initiatives with France. The two countries want to strengthen Europe's ability to act in foreign policy, including by resolving what he described as the “tangle of responsibilities” within the EU's foreign policy framework.
Referring to the wars in Ukraine and Iran, Wadephul also called for renewed efforts to bring the parties back to the negotiating table. “We should now make a very serious effort to resolve both conflicts,” he said, adding that neither conflict will be decided on the battlefield, “but at the negotiating table – and the sooner that happens, the better for the people affected”.
