Germany Proposes EU Troops to Replace UN Mission in Lebanon

UNIFIL troops patrol along the Blue Line. (Wikimedia Commons/Italian Army)

JAKARTA - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has proposed replacing the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, which will end with troops mandated by the European Union to prevent security vacuums.

"We have to examine in the European Union whether we can ensure that there will be no security vacuum with a European mandate after the UNIFIL mission," Foreign Minister Wadephul said in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland published on Friday, launching Al Arabiya from Reuters (17/7).

UNIFIL's mission ends on December 31, 2026. The German parliament extended the country's participation in the mission for the last time a few weeks ago.

Foreign Minister Wadephul said Lebanon, with a stable government, represents "one of the most promising developments in the region today."

Lebanon and Israel held ambassadorial talks at the US embassy in Rome on Tuesday and Wednesday, the sixth round of their face-to-face negotiations since the new war erupted on March 2 between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, triggered by a wider regional conflict.

The minister added that the troops mandated by the European Union could "create conditions for the Israeli army to withdraw without Hezbollah returning with its terror."

The proposal comes as European countries seek to maintain regional stability while balancing ties with Israel and Lebanon.