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U.N. Confirmation of Israeli Pullback Pending One Issue
There is only one border issue remaining unresolved before the U.N. confirmation of full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Wednesday.
U.N. special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, who has held shuttle talks among Israel, Lebanon and Syria in the last two weeks to verify Israel's pullback, is on his way back to the U.N. headquarters, convinced that the issue will be resolved, he said Larsen is due in New York late Wednesday to report to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on his mission.
U.N. and Israeli experts who met into early hours of Wednesday did not resolve the issue, and experts need additional time to sort it out, said Eckhard, without giving details.
Because of that, the four U.N. teams prepared to begin verification activities "have not gone out on their mission yet" and they are going about their work pending the resolution of the issue, he said.
The work in marking a line in the border area is required to confirm Israel's withdrawal in accordance with Security Council resolutions 425 and 426 of 1978.
Once this is done, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will deploy troops to verify Israel's withdrawal.
Lebanon has rejected its military presence in south Lebanon since the Israeli pullout on May 24 from the area where the resistance groups are in control of the former occupied zone.
Lebanon has stressed that the Lebanese army will not be deployed in the area until the U.N. confirms full Israeli withdrawal.
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