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, the on-going visible marking of the Blue Line and the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar.

Following the meeting, Major-General Serra said: "It was a constructive meeting and I commend the parties' calm posture and constant efforts to safeguard the cessation of hostilities" and he added "I am pleased to see the positive engagement of the parties, their strong commitment to the liaison and coordination arrangements with UNIFIL and to the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701."

Major-General Serra emphasized the importance of keeping the focus on the imperatives for maintaining the calm on the ground and make full use of the Tripartite mechanism as a key mechanism to address security and military operational issues related to the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006)".