'Escalation is in no one’s interest' in Middle East: Macron

ANKARA

France’s president called for restraint in the Middle East in a video message published Thursday on X, saying “escalation is in no one’s interest.”

Emmanuel Macron noted that Lebanon was “hit by grief and fear” with this week’s deadly attacks caused by exploding pagers and other electronic devices and stressed that the country should not “live in fear of an imminent war.”

“A diplomatic path exists…and this is what France wants to draw for Lebanon with all its partners…First of all, escalation is in no one’s interest,” he added.

He emphasized that “Lebanon’s integrity, security and sovereignty must be preserved.”

“And nothing -- no regional adventure, no private interests, no faithfulness to any cause whatsoever -- is worth launching a conflict in Lebanon over,” he stressed.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a joint news conference in Paris with his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne that the two countries were "united in calling for restraint and urging de-escalation when it comes to the Middle East in general, and when it comes to Lebanon in particular."

Sejourne said they were "very much worried" by the current situation in the Middle East and reiterated the call for all parties to de-escalate tensions.

"Lebanon matters to France. Lebanon would not recover from a total war," he said, expressing support for the Lebanese people.

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have intensified in recent days following a wave of explosions Wednesday that affected ICOM wireless devices across Lebanon, resulting in 25 deaths and 450 injuries.

The explosions followed similar blasts Tuesday that struck pager devices, leading to 12 deaths, including two children, and injuring 2,800 others, with 300 in critical condition.

The Lebanese government and Hezbollah group held Israel responsible for the explosions and threatened it with “severe consequences.”

There has been no Israeli comment on the blasts, which came amid an escalation in cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,300 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7.