Report: Miqati Likely to Chair Security Council Meeting on Mideast

Premier Najib Miqati will visit New York end of the month and will likely head the monthly U.N. Security Council meeting on the Middle East on Sept. 27, a diplomatic source said.

The source told An Nahar daily published Saturday that Miqati will not travel on the same plane of President Michel Suleiman who is expected to go to New York on Sept. 18 at the head of the Lebanese delegation that will participate in the 66th General Assembly meeting.

Suleiman is scheduled to address the Assembly on Sept. 21 and chair the next day a Security Council session on preventive diplomacy.

Discussions on the situation in the Middle East will be held at a closed-door session and statements will be limited to the 15 members of the Security Council, the source told An Nahar.

However, the U.N. source stressed that preparations for the session are “ongoing.”

Meanwhile, the Lebanese mission led by Ambassador Nawwaf Salam is making intense preparations for Suleiman’s visit to New York and setting the stage for the meetings that he will hold with heads of state and top U.N. officials.