François Picard welcomes Farès Boueiz, former Lebanese minister of foreign affairs. The ongoing Israeli-Lebanese talks cannot be described as a “breakthrough”, Boueiz argues, but rather as a technical prelude to meaningful negotiations. What we are witnessing, he suggests, is the exploratory stage of diplomacy. At the heart of the impasse lies a fundamental misalignment of objectives: Lebanon enters these discussions seeking an immediate ceasefire and the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, while Israel is pursuing what Boueiz describes as “full political peace and normalisation” of ties.
