Washington, April 14 (Petra) -- A coalition of 17 nations, including the United Kingdom and France, called on Israel and Lebanon on Tuesday to capitalize on direct peace negotiations opening in Washington to secure a permanent end to decades of hostilities.

The joint statement, signed by foreign ministers from Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden alongside London and Paris, was released as high-level discussions began at the U.S. State Department.

The talks mark the first direct diplomatic engagement between the two neighbors in over 30 years. Facilitated by the United States, the session was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa.

The signatory nations welcomed the initiative taken by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to enter direct negotiations, describing it as a critical step toward restoring regional stability and Lebanese state sovereignty.

However, the 17-nation group also used the statement to "condemn in the strongest terms" a massive wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon conducted on April 8. According to data shared by Lebanese authorities, those attacks resulted in the deaths of more than 350 people and left over 1,000 others wounded.

Diplomats expressed hope that the Washington talks could transform a fragile cessation of hostilities into a formal peace framework. The negotiations are expected to address long-standing security arrangements and the status of armed groups in Lebanon, with Secretary Rubio describing the meeting as a "historic opportunity" to break the cycle of violence.

//Petra// AF