Watkins Discusses with Moussawi ‘Requirements of 1701 that Still Have to be Met’

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins said Friday that he discussed with Hizbullah official Ammar Moussawi the requirements of Security Council resolution 1701 that “still have to be met.”

Following his talks with Moussawi, who is the head of Hizbullah’s international relations department, Watkins said: “We discussed the areas where 1701 has worked very well so far, including the relative stability that has prevailed in south Lebanon, but also the requirements of 1701 that still have to be met in order to be able to move from the current cessation of hostilities to a permanent ceasefire.”

The diplomat said he also informed the party official “that the preparations for the next report on the implementation of resolution 1701 are underway and that the report would be submitted to the Security Council at the end of February.”

The two men discussed U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Lebanon earlier in the month.

Ban “expressed his expectation in all his meetings (with Lebanese officials) that Lebanon would continue to meet all its international obligations under all relevant Security Council resolutions,” Watkins said.

“I reiterated the U.N.’s hope that Lebanon would continue to seek to safeguard its stability and security, particularly in light of the developments taking place in the surrounding Arab world,” he added.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on January 14 that he “felt happy” when he heard that Ban said he was concerned about the party’s military power.

Ban had expressed concern at the military capacity of Hizbullah during a press conference he held a day earlier in Beirut.