By Nur Asena Erturk
The US and its European allies “agreed on the need to work” for a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, according to a statement issued by the German Chancellery.
US President Joe Biden on Friday met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his official visit to Berlin.
They discussed the situation in the Middle East, and “reiterated their condemnation of Iran's escalatory attack on Israel,” the statement said.
Biden and the European officials also “agreed on the need to work towards full implementation of UNSCR 1701 and a diplomatic resolution that allows civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return home safely,” it said.
Israel dramatically escalated its massive bombing campaign across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing more than 1,500 people, injuring over 4,500 others, and displacing more than 1 million people.
The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed at least 42,500 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.
Despite international warnings that the Middle East was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, on Oct. 1 it expanded the conflict by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon.
- Ukraine
The leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine and “their plans to provide Ukraine with additional security, economic, and humanitarian assistance – including leveraging the extraordinary revenues of immobilized Russian sovereign assets,” the German Chancellery statement said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's “Victory Plan” was also on the agenda.
Biden’s farewell visit to Germany came at a time of growing concerns in Europe about the future of US military support for Ukraine, as recent polls suggest that former President Donald Trump may win the 2024 US presidential election, less than three weeks from now.
Trump and his Republican Party have been far less supportive of helping Ukraine fight off Russia’s war, with some members of the party urging that aid be cut off completely.
In a podcast this week, Trump said: “He (Zelenskyy) should never have let that (Ukraine) war start,” seemingly blaming him for the conflict.
Germany is currently Ukraine’s second-largest donor after the US, and it has provided advanced weapons such as Leopard 2 battle tanks, Patriot missiles, and IRIS-T air defense systems to Kyiv.