German FM Calls for Diplomatic Solution to Fighting on Her Visit to Beirut

 German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reacts, on the day she meets Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon October 23, 2024. (Reuters)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reacts, on the day she meets Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon October 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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German FM Calls for Diplomatic Solution to Fighting on Her Visit to Beirut

 German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reacts, on the day she meets Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon October 23, 2024. (Reuters)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reacts, on the day she meets Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon October 23, 2024. (Reuters)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

Baerbock, upon her arrival Wednesday in Beirut, said that “we must now work with our partners in the USA, Europe and the Arab world to find a viable diplomatic solution that safeguards the legitimate security interests of both Israel and Lebanon.”

The foreign minister warned that “a complete destabilization of the country would be fatal for the most religiously diverse society of all states in the Middle East and also for the entire region.”

She also asked all parties involved in the conflict to protect the United Nations peacekeeper troops stationed in the Israeli-Lebanese border region.

Baerbock is on her 12th visit to the region since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

She held talks with influential parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri upon her arrival in Beirut.



G7 Foreign Ministers Say 'Now is the Time' for Lebanon Ceasefire

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
TT

G7 Foreign Ministers Say 'Now is the Time' for Lebanon Ceasefire

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Foreign Ministers from the G7 democracies on Tuesday upped the pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying "now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement."

In a draft statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Italy, the G7 ministers urged Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Palestinians, and condemned increasing settler violence in the West Bank, Reuters reported.

The ministers also condemned recent attack on the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and expressed their support for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, saying it plays a "vital role."