US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “France and the United States are united in calling for restraint and urging parties to de-escalate when it comes to the Middle East in general and when it comes to Lebanon in particular.”
This came during Blinken’s visit to Paris on Thursday, in which he referred to his statements in Cairo on Wednesday, in which he said that reaching a ceasefire in Gaza “is still possible and necessary.”
“We don’t want to see any escalatory actions by any party that would make that more difficult,” Blinken added.
Washington did not explicitly condemn the explosion of thousands of communication devices used by Hezbollah members across Lebanon, which killed dozens and injured thousands, and for which Hezbollah pointed the finger at Israel.
During his short visit to Paris, Blinken will meet with President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, and will also meet with the foreign ministers of France, Italy and the United Kingdom, and a diplomatic official from Germany, in the absence of Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
The meeting will focus in particular on the status of talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and the situation in Lebanon, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a statement.
Blinken was in Cairo hoping to make progress in ceasefire negotiations when two waves of pager and walkie-talkie explosions occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Image source, Reuters