Lahoud: Palestinian Diaspora has right to return to their lands

President Emile Lahoud of Lebanon on Tuesday renewed his country's commitment to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on the UN relevant international resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the UN resolution No. 194 on the right of the Palestinian Diaspora to return to their lands.

"The questions of Lebanon which I convey to the international circles is my hope to see the just and comprehensive peace in the region.... I will seize the opportunity to renew the assertion that the way to end the crises and the terrorism in the region is to apply the UN relevant international resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict," Lahoud said in a statement delivered at John Kennedy airport in New York upon arrival to participate in the UN World Summit, due tomorrow.

President Lahoud expressed hope that the summit will be an occasion to make a deep revision of the conditions and circumstances that help create terrorism and extremist.

He underscored the important role of the UN in keeping the international peace and security and in treating problems across the world, saying "there is a keen desire to activate all the UN agencies....to boost the spirit of democracy and arming it with proper means and executive capabilities."