Ne w York (VNA) – “As part of the Middle East issue, the issue of Lebanon can only be resolved through dialogue and negotiations and with cooperation from the League of Arab States and regional countries with due respect for Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Viet Nam’s standpoint about the solutions to the situation in Lebanon was stated by Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Security Council Le Luong Minh at the council’s March 10 discussion on the implementation of the Resolution 1701 related to Lebanon .

The Vietnamese representative noted recent positive developments such as the renewed commitment by Lebanon and Israel to the implementation of resolution 1701, enhanced tripartite cooperation between the two parties and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to address key security and military operational issues, and dialogues between Lebanon and Syria in border delineation and demarcation.

However, Ambassador Minh expressed his concern about continued attacks on Lebanese civilians and UNIFIL personnel, Israel ’s air violations and its occupation of village of Ghajar in the Lebanese territory, repeated postponements of the Presidential elections, the disarmament of armed groups, lack of technical strike data of Israeli cluster munitions as well as unresolved issue of Lebanese prisoners.

He also called on the parties concerned to promote political dialogue and search for compromise solutions to bring the country back to normalcy, proceeding to the Presidential elections as planned, thus contributing to regional peace and stability.

Regarding the recent tension in the Israel-Lebanon relationship, Minh stressed on the importance of exercising utmost restraint and settling disputes through peaceful negotiations.

“We call for and continue to support a full implementation of resolution 1701, especially with regard to the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, protection of assets and livelihood of civilians, and safety and security of international peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel,” said the Vietnamese diplomat in conclusion.