I had my first very productive meeting with the Prime Minister. I was honored and delighted to be received by him. We had a very good discussion on a number of key issues that are very relevant to Lebanon at this current juncture.
I don’t need to spell them out but they relate to the overall situation of stability, security and stabilization of the country which is so precious to all of us, the importance of finding an early mechanism to elect a President – the significance of this of course is very well understood. Equally so, the ongoing and continued support that the United Nations provides also through myself as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Special Coordinator for Lebanon -- the good offices , advocacy and leadership -- will continue to be provided to the Government of Lebanon and its partners in addressing all the wider range of needs be they on the political front, security, ensuring progress towards implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 but also looking at effective ways of implementing the LCRP (Lebanese Crisis Response Plan), and finding funding to make sure the United Nations and the Government of Lebanon and its partners can address the needs of the Syrian refugees as well as vulnerable, very generous Lebanese host communities.
With regards to the security situation in particular we reviewed the situation in the south and the developments that occurred in recent days as well as the incident in Qunaitra and of course I reiterated, and the Prime Minister very much of course spoke to this, the statement by the Secretary-General urging all parties to refrain from any actions that could directly or indirectly lead to an escalation of the current situation. So we come back to SCR 1701, the tremendous role and collaboration that UNIFIL provides in the country.
Overall we concluded on the need for continued, very strong and intense cooperation, the presence of the United Nations as working with and for Lebanon, the Government and the people of Lebanon, and the need to look at all the opportunities to stabilize, to build and to enhance Lebanon's resilience at a time of continued challenges and possible crisis.
Thank you very much.