Naqoura, Lebanon - UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas met with senior representatives of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) tonight at the UN Position at the Ras Al Naqoura crossing.

This was a special tripartite meeting to discuss ways to speed up the process of visibly marking the Blue Line on the ground. The purpose of the task is to ensure that the Blue Line as identified in 2000 by the United Nations is fully respected in its entirety.

"The process of visibly marking the Blue Line on the ground is an important endeavour which would reduce tension and the possibility of inadvertent violations," Major-General Asarta said. "The parties have expressed to me their strong interest in speeding up this process."

The Force Commander said the meeting was constructive.

"I believe that the deliberations will have a positive impact on the speed and accuracy of the technical work UNIFIL is doing with the parties on the ground to visibly mark the Blue Line," he said.

Responding to a question about the situation on the ground, the Force Commander said that he received assurances from the parties that they want to continue working closely with UNIFIL to maintain calm in the area. " No one is interested in an escalation. A ll parties must strive to maintain the cessation of hostilities," Major-General Asarta said.