Rome, June 4 (IANS) Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Thursday called on Hezbollah to comply with a US-brokered accord between Lebanon and Israel to renew their fragile ceasefire announced in a joint statement which said the deal was “contingent on complete cessation” of attacks by the Iran-backed Shia Muslim militant group among other conditions.
“We keep saying that the only path forward, if we want to achieve peace, is that of dialogue and diplomacy. The agreement reached yesterday (Wednesday) between Israel and Lebanon in the United States is a positive step,” Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Valle D’Aosta on cross-border cooperation between Italy and France, Adnkronos news agency reported.
“That agreement must now be respected. Hezbollah bears a tremendous responsibility and has already announced that it does not intend to respect it, but it must comply with the decisions of Lebanon’s legitimate government, which is safeguarding the country’s territorial integrity to the best of its ability,” he said.
The Israel-Lebanon accord, reached after a fourth round of US-mediated talks, requires the “evacuation of all [Hezbollah] operatives” from an area between the Israeli border and the Litani river, about 30 kilometres to the north, which is currently occupied by Israeli ground forces. It is the deepest Israeli advance into Lebanon in decades.
“We want peace; we want Hezbollah to stop provoking Israel by firing missiles and targeting civilians…we welcome the US mediation, which we support,” said Tajani.
“But we also want the Lebanese regular armed forces to safeguard that country’s security,” he went on.
Italy has been training the Lebanese army for years through a military mission (MBIL) that is distinct from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, whose mandate will end on 31 December, Tajani said.
“We are ready to do more, also to work to cut off financial flows to Hezbollah’s military wing, including through the cooperation that our Guardia di Finanza (tax police) can provide,” Tajani added.
Italy will maintain a military presence in Lebanon and support the capacity building of the Lebanese armed forces after the planned UNIFIL withdrawal at the end of the year, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has stated.
–IANS
ksk/as