Lebanon maintains active participation in summit

On the sideline of his participation in the 8th Islamic summit, Lebanese President Elias Hrawi on Wednesday discussed the situation in the south of Lebanon with spiritual leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khameni and with the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami who asked the Lebanese factions to "be under the umbrella of the Lebanese state."

The Iranian spiritual leader praised Lebanon's stand in refusing to hold bilateral talks with Israel, describing such a stand as a "source of pride" and saying that "divine coexistence" in Lebanon is a well-established fact.

During this one-hour meeting, President Hrawi spoke about the situation in the south, Moslem - Christian coexistence in Lebanon, the determination of the Lebanese people to resist occupation and to enhance Lebanon's national and human message and Lebanon's commitment to the implementation of UN resolution 425 which calls on Israel to leave Lebanese territories unconditionally.