CAIRO: The British ambassador to Lebanon said Wednesday that the behavior of some parties, including that of Hezbollah, undermines peace in Lebanon.
The remarks by Chris Rampling came during his meeting with Mar Bishara Boutros Al-Rai, the Lebanese patriarch of the Maronite Catholic church.
Rampling said he discussed the political solution proposed by Al-Rai for Lebanon, which aims to maintain the country’s characteristics of pluralism, openness, and democracy.
“I discussed with his eminence the neutrality initiative that he launched and its content, which it is clear that some parties, including Hezbollah, did not support, and this undermines the stability of Lebanon.”
The ambassador also described his meeting with the Al-Rai as “very important.”
“We talked about the Beirut bombing, and I expressed my condolences to his eminence and the Lebanese people,” he was quoted by Lebanon’s state news agency as saying.
“We talked about the difficult economic situation, the difficulties that Lebanon and the Lebanese are facing, the necessity for reforms at this delicate stage.”
UK envoy blames Hezbollah behavior for undermining peace in Lebanon
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UK envoy blames Hezbollah behavior for undermining peace in Lebanon
Sudan PM heads to New York for UN talks
- Sudan’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said last week he was ready to work with Trump to resolve the conflict
PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris left for New York on Saturday to meet the UN chief and other officials and discuss humanitarian access and a possible ceasefire, two government sources said.
The trip comes as fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023, intensifies in southern Kordofan, raising fears of new atrocities similar to those reported in the city of El-Fasher in late October.
Reports of mass killings, rape, and abductions followed the RSF’s capture of the army’s last stronghold in the western
Darfur region.
A Sudanese government source said Idris was expected to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “put an end to the worsening humanitarian crisis” in Sudan.
Idris’ adviser, Mohammed Abdel Qader, also said the talks would focus on “facilitating aid access” and reaffirm the government’s commitment to a roadmap handed over to the UN, including a “conditional ceasefire linked to the withdrawal of the RSF from areas and cities it occupies.”
Earlier this month, Guterres said the United Nations was preparing talks with both sides in Geneva, but did not specify a date.
Renewed hopes for diplomacy emerged last month when US President Donald Trump pledged to help end the conflict.
Sudan’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said last week he was ready to work with Trump to resolve the conflict.
The RSF says it supports the international ceasefire plan, but heavy fighting continues, notably in Kordofan.
Egypt, a key ally of Sudan’s army, warned on Thursday that escalating violence “directly affects Egyptian national security” and stressed that preserving Sudanese state institutions remains a “red line.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the new year offered a chance for a humanitarian truce in Sudan and urged external countries to use leverage.
“Ninety-nine percent of our focus is this humanitarian truce and achieving that as soon as possible,” Rubio told a news conference.
“And we think that the new year and the upcoming holidays are a great opportunity for both sides to agree to that, and we’re really pushing very hard in that regard,” he said.
Rubio voiced alarm at new reports that humanitarian convoys have been struck.
“What’s happening there is horrifying. It’s atrocious,” he said.
“One day, the story of what’s actually happened there is going to be known, and everyone involved is going to look bad,” he added.
“We’re hopeful that we can make some progress on this, but we know that in order to make progress on this, it will require outside actors to use their leverage,” Rubio said.
