Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has again urged the international community “to put an end to Israeli aggression,” reaffirming “Lebanon’s commitment to the full implementation of Resolution 1701.”
Speaking at the opening of the Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, Mikati said he appreciated the initiative of friendly countries and major powers to put an end to the raging violence in southern Lebanon and welcomed Security Council Resolution 2732, which put in place a roadmap to stop the fighting in Gaza.
“We hope that this resolution will be swiftly implemented to prevent a full-scale war in the region,” Mikati said, as reported by caretaker Minister of Information Ziad Makari at the end of the meeting.
On the presidential issue, Mikati reiterated his urgent call to elect a new president, adding, “A year has passed since the last electoral session was held while we continue to debate the nature and modalities of dialogue.”
He noted, however, that “there is consensus on the need for a preliminary dialogue in order to elect a president and restore stability and order to the constitutional institutions.”
On the issue of displaced Syrians, Makari said the data that the government obtained from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is incomplete, noting that “General Security has drawn up a plan in that regard, which it intends to implement in coordination with the army, but which also requires coordination with the Syrian government.”
A total of 16 ministers attended today’s meeting, amid continued Cabinet meeting boycotts by the ministers representing the Free Patriotic Movement in the absence of a president.
