Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, in his office at Ain al-Tineh during the reception of French diplomat Stephane Sejourne, on April 28, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri spoke by phone Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
“France will continue to support Lebanon, prioritize its stability and the preservation of its sovereignty, and support it in various fields, particularly by backing the army and reconstruction,” Macron said.
“Exceptional international efforts must be accelerated to pressure Israel to end its war on Lebanon and withdraw from the territories it occupies, up to the international border,” Berri responded, according to remarks reported by the NNA.
The call came a day after Berri and President Joseph Aoun met at Baabda Palace on Wednesday, their first meeting in three months following a period of strained relations.
The resumption of dialogue between Berri and Aoun comes amid rising tensions along Lebanon’s southern front, which could flare again as regional hostilities between Iran and the United States intensify.
The head of the Amal Movement has strongly opposed the “framework agreement” reached between Lebanon and Israel in late June. The deal provides for the establishment of so-called “pilot zones,” where the Lebanese Army is to deploy and dismantle remaining Hezbollah infrastructure in exchange for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas of southern Lebanon.
The initial pilot zones were established in Zawtar Gharbieh in the Nabatieh district, Froun and Ghandourieh in the Bint Jbeil district.
