France says window of opportunity open for Lebanon ceasefire

Paris: France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that US-led efforts for a truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon had created the chance for a lasting ceasefire and he called on both sides to accept a deal on the table.

“There is a window of opportunity that’s opening for a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon that would allow the return of those displaced, ensure the sovereignty of Lebanon and the security of Israel,” Jean-Noel Barrot told Europe 1 radio.

“I call on all sides with whom we are in close contact to seize this window.”

Meanwhile, a Hezbollah official said on Wednesday that any US-brokered ceasefire deal between the group and Israel must end fighting swiftly and must preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty, an apparent reference to Israel’s stance that it will keep striking the Iran-backed group even with a truce in place.

Speaking to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, Mahmoud Qmati said that he was neither overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic about the prospects of a truce.

The group also said that its chief Naim Qassem would give a speech Wednesday, a day after canceling a similar announcement and with US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut seeking an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war.

A statement from the Iran-backed group announced the speech by Qassem would be “today,” without specifying a time.