Moratinos: EU refuses amendment of 425
Lebanon-Tunisia-European Union, Politics, 6/25/1998

The European Union's Middle East peace process special envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos stressed that UN resolution 425 is clear and should be implemented unconditionally.

In a statement he made on Wednesday following his meeting in Beirut with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fares Boueiz, Moratinos added that he will discuss next Monday in Luxembourg with the EU foreign ministers a strategic initiative concerning the peace process in the region.

"The paper includes several scenarios," he said. He added that his initiative complements the initiative proposed by the US, noting that all sides have the desire to find a way to advance peace on all tracks. Moratinos described his talks with Boueiz as good, noting that they "centered on means of salvaging Middle East peace from its current deadlock." He indicated a new element in the American position on the need to revive the Syrian and Lebanese tracks as priorities in the negotiations.

On his visit to the border town of al-Naqoura in south Lebanon on Wednesday, Moratinos said the visit aims at voicing support and encouraging UNIFIL. Moratinos told reporters that the EU refuses any amendment of UN resolution 425 which calls for Israel's unconditional withdrawal from south Lebanon. In statement to reporters following talks he held in al-Naqoura with UNIFIL leadership, Moratinos said that UN resolution 425 should be implemented in word and in content, unconditionally.

He listened to explanations from one UNIFIL officer on the dangers posed by Israeli occupation positions positioned near UNIFIL positions. During his visit to the area, Israel bombarded nearby areas in south Lebanon.

Previous Stories:
  Moritanos to Cairo next Saturday   (6/24/1998)
  Moratinos in Lebanon to examine ideas to advance peace   (6/22/1998)
  New weekly air-flight between Tunis and Beirut   (6/5/1998)

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