Berlin, Paris eye joint Lebanon approach as part of broader peace effort

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has announced a joint German-French initiative on Lebanon, aimed at increasing the chances of peace in the Middle East, according to an interview published ahead of next week’s German-French ministerial council.

"We want to formulate a joint policy on Lebanon with France in order to increase the chance of peace in the Middle East," the CDU politician told Tagesspiegel. He did not provide further details. The interview was made available in advance to dpa.

Wadephul also outlined plans for broader cooperation with France, saying the two countries intend to strengthen Europe’s ability to act in foreign policy. This includes efforts to resolve what he described as "confusion over competences" within European Union foreign policy structures.

In addition, the minister called for renewed diplomatic efforts to address the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.

"We should now make a very serious attempt to settle both conflicts," he said, arguing that neither war would be decided militarily "but at the negotiating table - the sooner, the better for people."

He added that the recent escalation in violence does not preclude the possibility of negotiations, pointing to what he described as "the military phenomenon of a last surge before entering into negotiations."

"I could well imagine that we are experiencing something like that right now because the most recent attacks by Russia and Iran in terms of timing around the NATO summit were certainly no coincidence and were meant to demonstrate supposed strength," Wadephul said.

The minister said he had "well-founded hope" that both conflicts could move toward a resolution.

By Tamilla Hasanova