France's Macron urges 'acceleration' of Israel-Hezbollah truce implementation

France's President Emmanuel Macron was in Lebanon on Friday for a visit to meet his newly-elected counterpart and offer support to leaders seeking to open a new chapter in their country's turbulent history.

After more than two years of a political vacuum at the top, Joseph Aounwas elected president on January 9 and chose Nawaf Salam as prime minister-designate.

They now face the daunting task of leading Lebanon after a devastating Israel-Hezbollah war, years of economic crisis and decades of Syrian domination.

Rawad  © france24

Macron is also expected to meet UN chief Antonio Guterres in the Lebanese capital as a January 26 deadline to fully implement a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group approaches.

Macron's visit aims to "help" Aoun and Salam "to consolidate Lebanon's sovereignty, ensure its prosperity and maintain its unity", the French presidency said prior to his arrival.

Analysts say Hezbollah's weakening in the war with Israel last year allowed Lebanon's deeply divided political class to elect Aoun and to back his naming of Salam as premier.

Islamist-led rebels overthrowing key Hezbollah ally Bashar al-Assad on December 8 has also contributed to the ushering in of a new era for tiny Lebanon.

France has special ties with Lebanon, which it administered for two decades after World War I, and the two countries have maintained close relations even since Lebanon's independence in 1943.

"In Lebanon, we have gone in a matter of months from a situation of dramatic escalation to a situation of hope for possible redress," a French diplomatic source said on condition of anonymity.

"It's a dynamic to which France has greatly contributed."

Salam, a former presiding judge at the International Court of Justice, is "a true reformist", though he now faces the challenge of turning the hope around his election into action, the source said.

The new premier has launched delicate consultations to pick a government, with Hezbollah continuing to play an important role in Lebanon's political scene despite its weakening on the battlefield.

Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have given "their full support" to the formation of a "strong government" in Lebanon, the French presidency said on Thursday.

The new government must "bring together Lebanon's diverse people, ensure the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is respected and carry out the reforms necessary for the prosperity, stability and sovereignty of the country", the presidency said.

The UN Security Council called Thursday for Lebanese leaders to rapidly form a new government, describing it as a "critical" step for stability in the war-battered country and region.

Ceasefire

In Beirut, Macron met with UN peacekeeping mission chief Aroldo Lazaro and the heads of a committee tasked with monitoring any violation of a ceasefire that took effect on November 27 after more than a year of war.

"Things are moving forward, the dynamic is positive" on the implementation of the ceasefire, he told journalists after the talks.

He was also due to meet the powerful speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.

Hezbollah is the only group in Lebanon that refused to surrender its weapons to the state following the 1975-1990 civil war.

Backed by Syria under Assad, it played a central role in politics for decades, flexing its power in government institutions while engaging in fighting with the Israeli military.

The latest war with Israel has left it shattered but not crushed, while the ouster in Syria of Assad has deprived it of its weapons lifeline from Iran.

Under the November 27 ceasefire accord, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south of Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws.

At the same time, Hezbollah is required to pull its forces north of the Litani river, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in south Lebanon.

After an aid conference in Paris in October, France's presidency promised "symbolic gestures" to mobilise the international community to come to Lebanon's assistance.

(AFP)