(Adnkronos) – Italy said on Monday it is willing to host talks between Israel and Lebanon aimed at ending the conflict in which over a thousand people have been killed and thousands wounded in attacks since early March, while over 1.2 million have been forced to flee their homes since, creating a humanitarian crisis.
“We are ready to host future talks between Israel and Lebanon with a view to achieving stability and peace,” foreign minister Antonio Tajani said at a press conference after talks in Beirut with Lebanese president Joseph Aoun.
Tajani’s visit is aimed at underlining Italy’s solidarity with and mulling current and future aid for Lebanon in the face of missile and drone attacks and shellings which Israel says are targeting Iranian-backed group Hezbollah.
Tajani’s talks with top officials in Beirut were also expected to look at support for structural reforms began by the crisis-hit country’s government, the tensions between the United States and Iran and the need to keep the key Strait of Hormuz waterway open to shipping.
Iran and the US agreed to a two-week ceasefire last Tuesday to allow talks to proceed on ending six weeks of war.
