BEIRUT: The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag highlighted the importance of stability and security for Lebanon during meetings with Lebanese ministers Monday. Kaag held separate talks with Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi and Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan.
According to a statement issued by her media office, discussions also focused on the challenges the Lebanese government continues to face in addressing the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis.
“Noting the role played by Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s government, the special coordinator highlighted the urgency in determining the mechanism to elect a president as soon as possible,” the statement said.
According to the statement, discussions in both meetings also highlighted the importance of Security Council Resolution 1701 following the events of recent weeks.
Late in January, two Israeli soldiers were killed after Hezbollah attacked with missiles an Israeli military convoy in the occupied Shebaa Farms. The attack wounded six other Israeli soldiers, and a Spanish UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed in retaliatory fire from Israel.
Hezbollah was responding to an Israeli airstrike 10 days earlier in Qunaitra in Syria’s Golan Heights that hit a Hezbollah convoy, killing six party fighters and an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander.
Kaag’s talks with Rifi and Hajj Hasan also focused on the security situation in the country and the assistance provided to refugee and host communities in the context of stabilization efforts for Lebanon.
Hajj Hasan urged the international community to assume its responsibility in combating terrorism by confronting countries financing militant groups, and urged nations to honor their pledges to help Lebanon cope with its refugee crisis.
Speaking after a meeting with Kaag, Hajj Hasan said he had discussed with the Dutch diplomat “Israel’s aggressions and the role of the international community in deterring Israeli attacks in the region, against Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinians.”
“I explained that terrorism, which is threatening Lebanon and the whole region, would not have proliferated without the support of certain states with money, arms and training, enabling the commitment of [atrocities] in the region,” Hajj Hasan, who represents Hezbollah in the government, said in remarks carried by the National News Agency.
“It is essential that the international community bear responsibility for that terrorism, and compel certain member states to abide by U.N. rules,” he added.
The minister said discussions also covered the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon which placed tremendous strains on the economy and infrastructure. He called on donor states to honor their financial commitments to the host country.
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