The German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Johann Wadephul, has announced the launch of a "Franco-German initiative" aimed at contributing to the stabilization of the situation in Lebanon, a country he considers key to addressing the war in Iran.
In an interview with the newspaper 'Tagesspiegel', Wadephul indicated that he is confident that this common project can be finalized and deepened during the meeting of the Franco-German ministerial council scheduled for next week.
At the same time, the head of German diplomacy has announced that other joint actions with France are being prepared. As he explained, both governments aspire for Europe to have a greater capacity for action in foreign policy and to clarify the "confusion about competences" in the area of the European Union's (EU) external action.
Wadephul also emphasized the need to give new impetus to the talks on the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. "We should now make a very serious attempt to resolve both conflicts," he explained, adding that neither of them is resolved on the battlefield, "but at the negotiating table; the sooner, the better for the people."
In this regard, he argued that the latest escalation of violence should not be interpreted as the end of opportunities for peace, as there is "the military phenomenon of a final surge before starting negotiations." "I can perfectly imagine that we are experiencing something like this at the moment, because the most recent attacks by Russia and Iran, in terms of when they occurred around the NATO summit, were certainly not a coincidence and were aimed at demonstrating supposed strength," he opined.
The minister insisted that he maintains "well-founded hope" that there is still room to move towards a negotiated solution in both conflict scenarios.