Mikati, French delegation discuss French 'ideas' for South

Caretaker PM Najib Mikati met Thursday with a French delegation comprising the foreign ministry’s political affairs director, the defense ministry’s international and strategic relations director, the deputy head of the N. Africa and Mideast dept. at the foreign ministry, and the French ambassador to Lebanon.

“The visit is a follow-up to the visit of French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné and we raised our ideas regarding the situation in South Lebanon,” French Ambassador to Lebanon Herve Magro said after the talks.

Sejourne was in Beirut on Tuesday with a proposal to ease the border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. He warned that the border situation is "very concerning" and that Israel is serious in its threats against Lebanon, a Lebanese official told The Associated Press.

Sejourne 's suggestion called for a bigger role for the Lebanese Army in the border area and for negotiations regarding 13 disputed points along the border since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, according to a Lebanese diplomat based in Europe.