Lebanon seeks stability, ready for self-defense: Aoun

By Wassim Samih Seifeddine and Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi

BEIRUT

Meeting a top UN peacekeeping official in Beirut Monday, Lebanon’s president expressed the country’s wish for stability in the region and readiness for Israel’s possible military intervention.

President Michel Aoun met with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations, at the presidential palace today, said an official Lebanese statement.

Aoun said that in attacking Syria, Israel not only violates Lebanese territorial airspace but also violates UN Security Council Resolution 1701 resolution by building a wall along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

The Israeli army on Feb. 10 shot down an Iranian drone launched from Syria and struck a number of Iranian targets in war-torn Syria.

In 2006 the Security Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for the cessation of all hostilities in southern Lebanon following a devastating conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.

Aoun warned of the harm from budget cuts to UN peacekeepers in the region (UNIFIL).

After being welcomed by Lebanese Premier Saad Hariri today, at a news conference Lacroix praised UNIFIL’s role in defusing tensions in the region.