France’s president began a visit to Lebanon Friday, where he will meet the crisis-hit country’s newly elected leaders, as the nation attempts to recover from the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

The Lebanese presidency noted that discussions focused on developments. Aoun reiterated Lebanon’s insistence on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from its occupied territories in the south, as stipulated in the agreement reached Nov. 27.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel on Friday to accelerate its troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, as a deadline nears for the pullout under the terms of a ceasefire that ended the war with Hezbollah last year.