I received the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa Hamish Falconer, who reaffirmed his country’s support for the path of direct negotiations, describing it as the right decision. He stressed the importance of reaching a ceasefire and said there is a historic opportunity that Lebanon should seize, calling on the Lebanese government to take concrete steps demonstrating its seriousness in moving toward placing all weapons under state control.
For my part, I emphasized that Lebanon has high hopes for the negotiations and reiterated that a diplomatic solution has always been the only way to stop Israeli attacks, secure Israel’s withdrawal, ensure the return of detainees, and demarcate the land borders. I also stressed that moving forward with direct negotiations has reinforced the principle of separating the Lebanese track from the Iranian one, and that the Lebanese state alone negotiates on behalf of Lebanon.
Minister Falconer informed me of the decision to increase the UK’s humanitarian assistance to Lebanon.
: Youssef Raggi
Minister of Foreign Affairs | Republic of Lebanon