Egypt FM to visit Beirut to discuss mechanism for defusing tensions with Israel

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty will visit Beirut on Tuesday to discuss “a mechanism for defusing an impending Israeli escalation against Lebanon,” al-Liwaa newspaper said.

Abdelatty’s visit comes after consultations with his Saudi and French counterparts on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg as well as a phone call with his Qatari counterpart, the daily added.

It quoted an Arab diplomatic source as saying that the Egyptian minister will come to Lebanon in the name of the five-nation support group for Lebanon, which comprises the U.S., Saudi Arabia, France, Egypt and Qatar.

Al-Liwaa said the mechanism carried by Abdelatty involves “Israel’s withdrawal from one of the five points in return for Hezbollah’s handover of its weapons, preventing Israel from carrying out new attacks against Lebanese citizens, and defusing tensions in any possible way.”

Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad had recently visited Lebanon carrying a similar initiative.