PM Salam: Lebanon insists on maintaining UN force in South Lebanon

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam received a parliamentary delegation headed by MP Melhem Khalaf, who handed him a copy of a letter signed by 86 MPs in support of maintaining the U.N. peacekeeping presence in Lebanon.

The delegation included MPs Bilal Hachem, Hagop Pakradounian, Jamil Abboud, Adnan Traboulsi, Farid Boustany, Michel Moussa, Yassine Yassine, Hagop Terzian, Bilal Abdallah, Haidar Nasser, Imad Hoballah, Najat Saliba, Ibrahim Mneimneh, Paula Yacoubian, Salim Sayegh, Firas Hamdan and Walid Baarini.

Salam thanked the MPs for their initiative and reiterated Lebanon’s official position that a U.N. force should remain in the south, with three key responsibilities: monitoring and reporting, coordination and communication.

He said he had personally conveyed Lebanon’s position to the U.N. Secretary-General during his visit to Beirut and in subsequent contacts, adding that the U.N. chief understood the need for a continued U.N. presence in the south to replace UNIFIL, as also reflected in his latest report on the issue.

Following the meeting, Khalaf said the delegation’s discussions focused on preserving UNIFIL’s presence in southern Lebanon, particularly amid the current difficult circumstances.

He said the petition signed by 86 MPs — more than two-thirds of Parliament — demonstrated a clear parliamentary will to maintain the U.N. umbrella in Lebanon.

Khalaf stressed the importance of preserving UNIFIL’s core functions of monitoring, reporting, coordination and communication, which have been part of the force’s mandate since its establishment in 1978.

He said the MPs’ initiative reflected their growing concern over the situation in Lebanon and the wider region, stressing the need to maintain stability, particularly in the south, through adherence to international legitimacy and U.N. resolutions.

Khalaf acknowledged that the nature of the force could potentially change, but insisted that any future arrangement must remain a UN force that upholds international legitimacy.