Washington often fails to convey its position to conflicting parties in the Middle East; Paris continues to have weight in this region. This was stated by the Minister of the French Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, in an interview with the French magazine Le Point.
“They say our calls for a reduction in tension are not being heeded, but it can be argued that [США] they are often not heard by some either [участники вооруженных действий]”, — said the minister, commenting on the position that “France’s voice is not heard as much in the region,” TASS reports.
Lecornu noted that France’s position on the situation in the Middle East is heard, in particular, due to the presence of the country’s military in the region.
“Our 700 soldiers [Временных сил ООН в Ливане] constantly patrol the Blue Line [границу Ливана и Израиля] in difficult conditions” – pointed out the minister.
He also stressed that only a few countries have diplomatic representations in the region, while the French special envoy for the Lebanese agreement Jean-Yves Le Drian It operates in Tel Aviv and Beirut.
“France also has a direct communication channel with Tehran,” – Lecornu pointed out.
As reported EADailyPreviously, the French Foreign Ministry had stated that France participated in repelling an Iranian missile attack on Israeli territory on October 1. The statement issued by the ministry underlines that Paris persistently calls for a de-escalation of the situation in the Middle East and demands that the warring parties cease hostilities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the head of French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrault will travel to the Middle East again in the coming days.
