Lebanese President voices unity of track with Syria

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has stressed Lebanon's commitment to the unity of the Syrian and Lebanese tracks in order to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

During his meeting with the US ambassador to Lebanon, David Satterfield, the Lebanese president stressed Lebanon's principles to restore every inch of the occupied territories in Lebanon and the Golan.

On results of the Israeli elections, President Lahoud said, "Measuring any positive development is linked to acts rather than statements."

For his part, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri made similar assertions during his Tuesday meeting with the US ambassador. He added that peace cannot be attained without implementing international legitimacy resolutions and the land for peace formula and the Israeli withdrawal from the Golan, south Lebanon and western Bekaa.

In a statement following the meeting, the US ambassador said he discussed with Berri "the Middle East peace process and the situation in south Lebanon."

The US ambassador stressed his country's backing for the April Understanding committee. He added "we are waiting to resume meeting of the Understanding Committee in order to find solutions to pending issues." He called for waiting until after the new Israeli government is formed in order to know about the possibility of resumption of negotiation on all tracks and achieving genuine progress in these negotiations.

He indicated that the April Understanding Monitoring committee plays "very important role for all sides concerned in protecting Lebanese civilians in south Lebanon."