PARIS, March 5 (Reuters) - France will strengthen its cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces and provide armored transport vehicles as well as operational and logistical support, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, as Lebanon was pulled deeper into the war in the Middle East earlier this week.
"Everything must be done to prevent this country, so close to France, from once again being drawn into war," Macron said in a post on X.
"At this moment of great danger, I call on the Israeli prime minister not to expand the war to Lebanon. I call on Iranian leaders not to further draw Lebanon into a war that is not its own," the French leader added.
After meeting with the chief of staff of the French military in Beirut, Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun asked Macron to intervene to "prevent the targeting of the southern suburbs following threats by the Israeli army against its residents," the Lebanese presidency said in a separate statement.
France has said that it aims to prevent escalation across the region and has taken steps to protect its own positions amid the wider conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
"Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel. Israel must refrain from any ground intervention or large-scale operation on Lebanese territory," Macron said.
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Bill Berkrot)
