UN official hopes long-term ceasefire between Lebanon, Israel

United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said Wednesday that he hoped the current cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel could be pushed to a long-term ceasefire, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's office said.

After the meeting with Hariri in downtown Beirut, Williams said that the main focus of their discussions was the implementation of UN resolution 1701.

He added that the two sides discussed some of the provisions of the resolution that require further progress and greater effort.

"This applies to both Lebanon and Israel," said Williams, adding "we hope both sides exert more efforts to help push the current cessation of hostilities towards a long-term ceasefire. Both sides must do their best to respect the Blue Line, and Lebanon, as the prime minister assured me, would be doing this, respecting the Blue Line in its entirety."

UN resolution 1701 ended the 34-day war between Israel and Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah in 2006, and mandates UN Interim Forces in Lebanon deployed in South Lebanon to conduct peacekeeping missions.

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