Mikati says US, France seeking to revive ceasefire statement as diplomacy intensifies

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati revealed Thursday that "diplomatic contacts intensified over the past hours, ahead of the U.N. Security Council session, with the aim of seeking a ceasefire again and thus exerting more pressure to stop the Israeli aggression on Lebanon."

"There are contacts taking place between the United States and France, which had requested the Security Council meeting, with the aim of reviving the ceasefire declaration for a specific period of time in order to resume the search for political solutions," Mikati told his visitors.

He added: "We have expressed again during the diplomatic contacts our readiness to implement Resolution 1701, provided that Israel abides by all its provisions. We also stressed the priority of stopping the Israeli aggression that is causing a large number of martyrs and wounded and is not sparing civilians, ambulances and relief personnel."

"Violence, killing and destruction will not lead to a solution, and Israel must be forced to stop its destructive aggression, because we fear that if things develop, the scope of the confrontations will expand to include the entire region," the premier went on to say.

Al-Jadeed television later reported that "U.S. and French diplomatic contacts with the Lebanese government have resumed ahead of tonight's U.N. Security Council session."