President of Parliament Nabih Berri told the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that the issue of renewing the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was at the top of the agenda of his recent meeting with President Joseph Aoun.
Berri said that a committee had been formed to draft a letter to the UN Security Council requesting renewal without any changes. He stressed that Lebanon, as Aoun had told him, was not aware of any intention to change anything concerning UNIFIL and had not been informed by any international party of a reduction in the number of international forces or a revision of their missions.
He added, "We are awaiting the upcoming visit to Beirut by the US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, to ascertain the real position of the United States, beyond speculation. It is on this basis that we will be able to define our own position, reaffirming our commitment to UNIFIL's current role without any amendments and our demand for an Israeli withdrawal with a view to implementing Resolution 1701."
Berri expressed his satisfaction with the atmosphere during his meeting with Aoun, praising France's position.
He stated, "No change in the US position has been communicated to us at this stage, despite rumors of differences within the US administration. Lebanon will base its final position on the decision taken by the Security Council regarding the renewal, as well as on the Council's position regarding the content of the letter sent by Lebanon to the UN."
Berri said that “Lebanon has respected all of its commitments under the ceasefire agreement sponsored by the US and France, unlike Israel.” He added, "Hezbollah remains committed to respecting it. It has cooperated with the Lebanese Army, facilitating its deployment south of the Litani River in areas from which Israel has withdrawn, with the support of UNIFIL. It has surrendered its weapons and has not objected to the dismantling of its military installations by the Army. It continues to respect the ceasefire and refrains from responding to Israeli violations and attacks: not a single shot has been fired since Lebanon committed to this agreement, which Israel has violated."
The head of Parliament also emphasized the role of the monitoring committee, and in the background, that of the United States, in the need to get Israel to respect the ceasefire. He said there was no reason to doubt Hezbollah's cooperation with the Lebanese Army, nor its alignment with the state's position, which calls for pressure on Israel to withdraw from the south.
Berri will begin his meetings in Beirut on Monday morning with a meeting with Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji.
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