Lahoud confers with Solana, Moratinos

Lebanese President Emil Lahoud on Wednesday evening received the higher representative of the European Union for political and security affairs Javier Solana.

Present at the meeting were the EU-ME peace process special envoy Moratinos, the French ambassador in Beirut ( as France is the head of the current rotating presidency of the EU) and the ambassador of the EU mission in Beirut.

President Lahoud informed the European delegate that Israel continued its daily aggressions against Lebanon and endangers the safety and security of the unarmed Lebanese people and violate the Lebanese airspace. A matter which all constitute a violation to the content of the UN resolution 425 and a flagrant violation to the Lebanese sovereignty.

He reiterated Lebanon's commitment to just and comprehensive peace, stressing that Lebanon is proceeding into liberating its occupied territories in Shebaa and restoring back the Lebanese detainees, who are jailed in the Israeli prisons.

He stressed that the Lebanese people had expected from effective international sides a similar stand as the one taking place now for releasing the Lebanese prisoners who have been jailed for years despite repeated demands made by Lebanon.

President Lahoud also stressed Lebanon's backing to the move carried out by the EU in the region.

For his part the Lebanese prime minister Salim al-Hoss has described the statement made by the UN secretary general Kofi Annan over the capturing of the three Israeli soldiers by the Lebanese national resistance as " a statement which is not in its right place." He explained that capturing the three Israeli soldiers was made on an occupied Lebanese territories. He questioned how can the capturing of three soldiers be a violation to UN resolution 425 while Israel's continued detention of 19 Lebanese and its continued occupation of Shebaa farms as well as opening fire against the unarmed Lebanese are not at all considered a violation to the said UN resolution."