NNA - Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib, received today the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Stephane Séjourne, who did not make any statement on emerging but merely described the meeting as "good".

He added: “We have made great progress in the discussions on the French proposals that we presented, and we will continue to exchange views in the coming weeks on the working paper,” stressing that “France will always stand by Lebanon.”

Follow the meeting, Bou Habib spoke to the attending press, whereby he welcomed the French initiative, France’s keenness on the sovereignty and stability of Lebanon, especially in its south, and the exchange of ideas on how to achieve these goals.

He stressed that "the comprehensive and complete implementation of UN Resolution 1701 will achieve the desired stability," and welcomed "every initiative issued by any side, including Paris and the United States of America."

"France is capable of playing a pioneering role in the Mediterranean, and we are counting on its assistance in the Brussels conference for displaced Syrians to change the European Union's approach to the displacement issue," Minister Bou Habib asserted.

He added: "We welcomed France's decision and thanked my French counterpart for his country's vote in the Security Council to recognize Palestine as a member of the United Nations."

Bou Habib expressed his optimism more than ever regarding the issues of the south and the refugees, noting that next Thursday, Lebanon will receive both the Cypriot President and the President of the European Commission Union, to discuss proposals for resolving the refugee issue, hoping that they will be positive.

==========R.Sh.