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UN's
VIJAY NAMBIAR MEETING IN
BEIRUT
ON CRISIS "FAILURE
COULD BE GRAVE" (MaximsNews.com,
UN) by
Max Stamper
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com
UN/
- 18 July 2006
--
Vijay Nambiar, the
head of
a three-member United
Nations team dispatched
to the Middle East to
defuse the growing
crisis, held high level
meetings in Beirut
yesterday with the
Lebanese Government and
he stressed there was
much diplomatic work
ahead and the
consequences of failure
could be grave.
“I
can announce today that
we have made some
promising first efforts
on the way forward. My
team has discussed
concrete ideas with the
Government of Lebanon.
We leave shortly for
Israel, where we will
convey these ideas for
further discussion,”
said Vijay Nambiar, the
Secretary-General’s
Special Political
Advise.
“I
must stress that this is
a first step and much
diplomatic work needs to
be done before we arrive
at any grounds for
optimism,” he told
reporters.
“Our
work will require the
support and goodwill for
my delegation from all
the parties. But they
should know that the
consequences of failure
could indeed be
grave,” he cautioned.
Mr.
Nambiar, and his team
members Alvaro de Soto
and Terje Roed-Larsen,
made these statements
after what he described
as “a productive round
of meetings” with the
Speaker of the Lebanese
Parliament, Nabih Berri,
and Prime Minister Fuad
Siniora.
“Our
meetings have been very
useful and I believe the
Lebanese Government has
a crucial role to play
in restoring peace and
security in Lebanon and
the region,” He said,
adding that after
conveying the details of
these meetings to
Israeli officials the
team may return to
Lebanon to explore these
ideas further.
“Time
is of the essence.
Creative solutions have
to be found in order to
prevent a broadening and
deepening of the
conflict.”
The
team, which
Secretary-General Kofi
Annan sent to the region
last week, has already
visited Egypt and after
going to Israel it may
also travel to Syria,
Jordan and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.
~~~
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