Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (Credi: Illustration by AFP)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri emphasized that Lebanese leaders are not prepared to change the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. In an interview published Wednesday by the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, Berri asserted that the resolution, which ended the 2006 war in Lebanon but remains unimplemented, is among the options under consideration to secure a cease-fire in the ongoing war.
“There is no intention to change the text of resolution 1701. What has been written has been written, and we are not ready to change even one letter,” said Berri, who also serves as the head of the Amal Movement, an ally of Hezbollah.
Berri denied claims that U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein had discussed resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon, or proposed replacing the International Force south of the Litani River with multinational forces.
Hochstein visited Beirut last week as part of efforts to de-escalate violence between Hezbollah and Israel, which has intensified since September.
“All the points relating to the cease-fire, the deployment of the Lebanese army and the implementation of resolution 1701 have been finalized, and we are waiting for Amos Hochstein to reach an agreement with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] on what has been achieved,” Berri said.
"Lebanon is ready to respect the agreements once Amos Hochstein and Benjamin Netanyahu have reached an agreement," he added, stressing "the need to provide the necessary guarantees for the implementation of the agreement."
“Lebanon is ready to respect the agreements once Amos Hochstein and Benjamin Netanyahu have reached an agreement,” he added, stressing"the need to provide the necessary guarantees for the implementation of the agreement."