Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that the country “is keen on preserving stability in the South, but is ready to defend itself against any Israel hostility.”
During talks the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, whom he met at Baabda palace on Monday, Aoun highlighted “Israel’s continuous violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and breach of the Lebanese airspace to bomb Syrian territories.”
He also touched on the recent dispute over an Israeli plan to build a cement wall along the borders with Lebanon.
“Israel’s attempt to build a cement wall along the southern borders, especially in the reserved zones of the Blue Line, is just another violation of the Lebanese sovereignty which Lebanon utterly rejects,” the Lebanese president affirmed, as quoted by the NNA.
Praising UNIFIL’s efforts in the South, Aoun warned that cutting the peacekeeping operations’ budget would negatively impact UNIFIL’s role, especially in the wake of Israel’s border threats.
Lacroix also met on Monday with Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
In remarks following the meeting, he said: “We had a very good discussion with the Prime Minister. I thanked him for the very good relation we have with the Lebanese government in fulfilling UNIFIL’s mission.”
“We mentioned particularly the cooperation we have with the Lebanese armed forces and the fact that the Lebanese armed forces strengthened their presence in Southern Lebanon and this is something that we welcome,” he added.
Lacroix underlined UNIFIL’s important role in diffusing tensions at the border.
UNIFIL “has a very important preventative role, which is very important particularly in a time where tensions arise, including verbal tensions, and UNIFIL is very, very present in this area of operation,” he stated.
Earlier on Monday, Aoun visited the Lebanese Army Command in Yarze and met with Army Commander General Joseph Aoun over the current security situation in the country and the LAF various missions and needs.
While the president highly valued efforts deployed by the Army institution to preserve the country’s safety and stability, he reiterated “Lebanon’s state and popular support for the army’s readiness along the southern borders to guarantee the country’s rights to its land and maritime borders, and to invest in its entire oil and economic resources.”
