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Crisis diplomacy: Foreign Minister Baerbock travels to Lebanon and Paris
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock talking to Nabih Berri, President of the Lebanese Parliament, © Dominik Butzmann/AA/photothek.de
For the twelfth time since Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on 7 October 2023, Foreign Minister Baerbock is travelling to the Middle East. Afterwards, she will travel on to Paris to take part in a conference on Lebanon organised by France.
Every day we see the images of fighting from Lebanon: columns of smoke rising over the capital Beirut, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, some of them camping in the streets, and hospitals stretched to the limit. The terror which Hamas and Hezbollah have unleashed on people in Israel and the entire region since 7 October seems to be never-ending. In Lebanon, too, the terrorists are hiding behind the civilian population. Missiles are still being fired against Israel from there.
Lebanon has already been in a crisis mode for many years: a civil war has been raging in neighbouring Syria for the last 13 years and millions of people have fled to Lebanon. The terrible explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020 was another blow to the country. At the same time, Lebanon has been experiencing an economic and political crisis for many years.
Against this difficult background, Foreign Minister Baerbock is travelling to the Lebanese capital today. On arrival in Beirut, she said:
During the last few weeks, Israel has managed to greatly weaken the terrorist Hezbollah. The task now is to work with our partners in the United States, Europe and the Arab world to devise a viable diplomatic solution which preserves the legitimate security interests of Israel as well as those of Lebanon. Complete destabilisation of the country would be fatal for the most religiously diverse society of any state in the Middle East, as well as for the entire region.
Summit meeting in Paris
Afterwards, Foreign Minister Baerbock will travel on to Paris, where she will take part on Thursday in a conference organised by France in support of Lebanon. The main focus of this conference will be the humanitarian situation of the people in Lebanon, as well as the international diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in order to overcome the country’s political crisis.