Foreign ministers from the UK, France, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, and others strongly condemn

Ask AI · How will the ten-country joint statement affect the Lebanon conflict de-escalation process?

According to Xinhua News Agency, on March 31, the UK Foreign Office issued a joint statement released by the foreign ministers of ten countries, including the UK and France, and by the EU High Representative. The statement strongly condemned recent attacks targeting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), urged all parties to abide by international law, and called for ensuring the safety of UNIFIL personnel and its installations.

The joint statement, issued by the foreign ministers of ten countries including Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the UK, as well as the EU High Representative, said it firmly supports UNIFIL’s mission in southern Lebanon, calls for keeping de-escalation channels open, and strongly condemns recent attacks against UNIFIL. The statement emphasized that these attacks have resulted in heavy casualties among peacekeeping personnel, which is unacceptable.

The statement noted that, in accordance with international humanitarian law, the safety of Lebanese civilians, humanitarian personnel, peacekeeping personnel, and civilian infrastructure, including airports, ports, and bridges, must be protected, while Lebanon’s territorial integrity must be respected. The statement also called on Israel to avoid further expanding the conflict and to avoid conducting ground military operations on Lebanese territory.

On March 27 local time, in Naguora, Lebanon, UNIFIL peacekeepers traveled by vehicle past a Lebanese army outpost. Photo source: Visual China

Recently, UNIFIL’s security has been affected multiple times by exchanges of fire. Two attack incidents resulted in the deaths of 3 peacekeepers and injuries to multiple personnel.

On March 30, Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China strongly condemns the attacks on UNIFIL, extends condolences to the victims, and expresses sympathy to the injured. Any deliberate attack on United Nations peacekeeping personnel seriously violates international humanitarian law and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and is absolutely unacceptable; it must be stopped immediately. China urges the parties concerned to work to cool down the situation and to take practical measures to ensure the safety of United Nations peacekeeping personnel.