Tripartite Meeting held on 9 October 2013
The Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major-General Paolo Serra, today chaired a regular tripartite meeting with senior officers from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) at the UN Position at Ras Al Naqoura crossing.
The meeting discussed the implementation of relevant provisions of UN Security Council resolution 1701 under UNIFIL’s mandate, including the situation along the Blue Line, air and ground violations, the on-going visible marking of the Blue Line and the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar.
The Force Commander expressed appreciation for the positive response from both the parties to UNIFIL’s efforts to preserve the calm along the Blue Line. He said: “During the past month we witnessed very challenging circumstances imposed by regional developments and credit goes to both the parties for working with UNIFIL with commendable composure and for maintaining the cessation of hostilities.
This has ensured continued stability along the Blue Line and going forward I have urged the parties to maintain the positive momentum in addressing practical issues on the ground, steps that would help further firm up the common security framework we have successfully implemented along the Blue Line until now. I commend both parties for their use of the liaison and coordination arrangements.”