Foreign Minister Jean Obeid on Wednesday summoned the personal representative of the UN secretary-general in South Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, to discuss aspects of a report requesting a renewal of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force for a further six months
The report, drawn up by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was submitted to the Security Council a few days ago, seeking an extension of UNIFIL’s term, starting Aug. 1, and outlining the prevailing situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Following his talks with Obeid, de Mistura said it was quite useful for both sides to analyze Annan’s report, which will be approved by the Security Council later today.
He denied allegations stating that discussions had touched on a call made over the weekend by Hizbullah’s secretary-general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, for the resumption of negotiations on the release of Lebanese detainees and Israeli captives.
“We did not touch on this subject,” he reiterated.
As for Obeid, he said that an “in-depth explanation” was sought regarding certain points in Annan’s report and in a briefing given by UN Middle East peace envoy Terje Roed-Larsen to the Security Council on July 17. Further meetings will be held after the Security Council votes on the report, he added.
In his report, Annan said that despite the prevailing calm in South Lebanon, the continued Israeli overflights and Hizbullah’s anti-aircraft fire “carry substantial potential for escalation.” He added that UNIFIL’s area of operations had remained “generally quiet” since his previous report in January.