French defense minister calls for end to Israel-Hezbollah conflict

Visiting French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Saturday called for a swift end to the ongoing bombing in Lebanon and the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Alliot-Marie, who arrived here earlier in the day for talks with senior officials of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), told a press conference that continued fighting would result in mounting civilian and military casualties on both sides and more infrastructure damage, and would make it more difficult to restore the already fragile Middel East peace process.

The ministers made the remarks as Israel's air raids in Lebanon entered its 11th day on Saturday. Israel launched the air campaign after the Lebanon-based Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross-border attack on July 12.

More than 300 people, mostly Lebanese cilivians, have been killed in the conflict and thousands of foreigners evacuated from the country.

France was most likely to participate in a proposed international force to be deployed along Israel-Lebanon borders, the minister added.

French President Jacques Chirac proposed the establishment of the force at the Group of Eight (G8) summit last week.

Alliot-Marie also said France and the United States differed on how to resolve the current crisis, with Paris favoring a halt to the fighting as the first step and Washington maintaining that relevant issues must be addressed before a ceasefire.

Before the press conference, Alliot-Marie met with UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and other UAE officials.

Source: Xinhua