Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib met on Thursday (U.S. time) with the United States Representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
According to a statement issued by the Spokesman of the U.S. Mission to the UN, Nate Evans, “Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield underscored U.S. support for securing a robust UNSC mandate to extend the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon so that it can perform its duties.”
“In that context, she welcomed Lebanon’s focus on the safety of UN peacekeepers, including through close coordination between the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL,” he added.
“She also emphasized that as part of the mandate renewal discussions we must address the activities of Green Without Borders, which was recently sanctioned by the United States for providing support and cover for Hezballah’s operations in southern Lebanon along the blue line,” according to the statement.
We recall that UNIFIL’s mandate is due to be renewed for a year at the end of August. The Security Council must adopt a resolution to this end. Uncertainty persists over the resolution’s clause relating to the freedom of movement of UNIFIL patrols in its area of operations. The United States is in favor of maintaining the formula that guarantees peacekeepers’ free access to the places they wish to inspect in this zone, while Lebanon insists on the importance of prior coordination with the army to better maintain stability in the border area.
