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Berri meets US delegation, criticizes US move to end UNIFIL's mission
by Naharnet Newsdesk 20 August 2025, 16:05
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met Wednesday in Ain el-Tineh with U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin and a congressional delegation from the Republican and Democratic parties.
'Despite the international efforts exerted, and the U.S. mediation in particular, to compel Israel to comply with international legitimacy and to implement the ceasefire agreement agreed on in November 2024 and Resolution 1701, we have been surprised by counter-efforts against Resolutions 425 and 1701 and against the ceasefire agreement from the same sponsor (Washington), targeting the presence of the UNIFIL forces and their mission,' Berri said during the meeting.
Noting that 'the five-party Mechanism -- which contains the UNIFIL forces in its structure and has it as a main component of its work -- is headed by a U.S. general whose deputy is a French general,' the Speaker wondered how 'a party seeking to consolidate the ceasefire and end the war can target their very own efforts.'
The United Nations Security Council began to debate Monday a resolution drafted by France to extend the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon for a year with the ultimate aim to withdraw it.
Israel and the United States have reportedly opposed the renewal of the force's mandate, and it was unclear if the draft text has backing from Washington, which wields a veto on the Council.
The text, first reported by Reuters, would "extend the mandate of UNIFIL until August 31, 2026" but "indicates its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL."
That would be on the condition that Lebanon's government was the "sole provider of security in southern Lebanon... and that the parties agree on a comprehensive political arrangement."
Under a truce that ended a recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group's infrastructure there.
