My visit to Lebanon in this Holy Month of Ramadan and also when the Christians are living the Lent is to say that moments like these, both Ramadan and Lent, appeal to peace, appeal to end the horrible suffering of the Lebanese people.
I am a great admirer of the Lebanese people. When I was High Commissioner for Refugees, I saw the generosity of the Lebanese receiving so many Syrians, so many Palestinians and today, it really breaks my heart to see the Lebanese people suffering so much.
800,000 displaced, 1500 dead and in an absolutely dramatic situation. And my message is very clear. We must stop this war. We must have an immediate ceasefire.
My appeal to both parties is: Let’s do an immediate ceasefire. Let’s stop this enormous suffering of the Lebanese people and we will do our best to make sure that with a ceasefire there will be serious negotiations to guarantee that Lebanon will see its sovereignty, its territorial integrity respected and at the same time that the Lebanon state with the totality of its communities will be a strong state and will be able to exercise the monopoly of the force in the country.
I'm sincerely convinced that the Lebanese people will be able to overcome this dramatic and challenging situation, and the Lebanese people can count on me and can count on the UN in order to do everything possible to end this nightmare.
Thank you very much.