Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in Moscow, Nov. 22, 2021. (Credit: Evgenia Novozhenina/POOL/AFP)
BEIRUT — Lebanese caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs met with his French, Russian, Iranian, Indonesian, and Algerian counterparts in the US on the sidelines of the UN Security Council session on the situation in the Middle East held Tuesday in New York.
Bou Habib met his French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné and affirmed "Lebanon's readiness to provide security in the country, reclaim occupied territories, and end [Israeli] violations," as stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bou Habib welcomed "any role that France could play in de-escalating tensions in the south and the comprehensive and balanced implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701."
Resolution 1701 concluded the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, necessitating significant Lebanese Army deployment in the area of southern Lebanon controlled by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Tensions on Lebanon's southern border have escalated since Oct. 8, with Hezbollah and Israel engaging in near-constant cross-border attacks. Bou Habib expressed appreciation for France's readiness to assist the Lebanese Army and support UNIFIL in maintaining stability in the south, with recent aid including the supply of 15 tons of medical freight.
In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the ministers discussed the Israeli "provocations faced by Lebanon and attempts to lure it into war," according to the MOFA.
Both ministers highlighted "the significance of Palestinian unity for achieving an independent Palestinian state."
Bou Habib also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, and both ministers emphasized "the urgency of halting the war's dangerous implications for the Middle East."
In a meeting with his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf, Bou Habib received assurance that "Algeria will always stand with the Palestinian cause and will remain beside Lebanon."
The war between Hamas and Israel is in its fourth month and concerns about its escalation into a regional war are increasing.
Bou Habib also met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. The two ministers "agreed on the necessity of an immediate cease-fire and an end to the war in Gaza and [the implementation of] the two-state solution."
In December, the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the intense fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The United States' deputy representative at the UN, Robert Wood, stated that the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would not have moved the needle forward on the ground."