FMs from UK, France, etc.: quiet in Lebanon more important than disarming Hezbollah

FMs from UK, France, etc.: quiet in Lebanon more important than disarming
Hezbollah

Lebanon: Joint Foreign Ministers’ Statement, 14 April 2026
Statement on Lebanon by the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Belgium,
Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,
Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lebanon-joint-foreign-ministers-statement
-14-april-2026

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon Yvette
Cooper MP
Published 14 April 2026

We, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus,
Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United
Kingdom, call for the inclusion of Lebanon in the regional de-escalation
efforts and urge all parties to work toward a lasting political solution.
The continuation of the war in Lebanon puts at risks the current regional
de-escalation, which we have welcomed and must be fully respected by all
parties.

We welcome the initiative by President Aoun to open direct talks with Israel
and the acceptance by Israel to start the talks facilitated by the United
States. We call on both parties to seize this opportunity. Direct
negotiations can pave the way to bring lasting security for Lebanon and
Israel as well as the region. We stand ready to support them. We therefore
call upon all parties to urgently deescalate and seize the opportunity
offered by the ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

We condemn in the strongest terms the attacks of Hezbollah against Israel
which must cease immediately. We also condemn in the strongest terms the
massive Israeli strikes on Lebanon conducted on 8 April which, according to
the latest information shared by the Lebanese authorities, resulted in the
death of more than 350 persons and wounded more than 1000. Civilians and
civilian infrastructure must be protected in accordance with international
humanitarian law.

We also condemn in the strongest terms the attacks against UNIFIL and we
reiterate that the safety and security of UN peacekeepers must be ensured at
all times.

We express our full solidarity and our steadfast support for the Lebanese
people and authorities. We stand ready to provide emergency assistance to
the more than one million displaced persons in Lebanon, in coordination with
the Lebanese government.

We reaffirm the importance of respecting for Lebanon’s territorial integrity
and sovereignty and for the full implementation of United Nations Security
Council resolution 1701 (2006). We will continue to support the Lebanese
state to exercise its full sovereignty over the whole Lebanese territory. In
this context, we commend the decision of the Lebanese government to ban
Hezbollah’s military activities, as well as its decision to reinforce the
full imposition of state authority over Beirut and to have the sole monopoly
on weapons, and we encourage full and swift implementation.
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