No violations of 1701 in Lebanese waters (Roundup)

Oct 29, 2007, 20:10 GMT

Beirut - German Defence Minister Franz-Josef Jung and his Lebanese counterpart Elias Murr reiterated Monday their support of fully implementing UN security Council resolution 1701 and said there were no violations of the resolution in Lebanese waters.

'The implementaion of UN 1701 is excellent and it succeeded 100 per cent and there were no violations in the Lebanese waters of the UN security 1701 throughout this year,' Murr said after meeting Jung.

Jung said: 'We focused in our one hour meeting on the implementation of resolution 1701 which secures stability and security, as well as securing the ceasefire,' between Lebanon and Israel, Jung said.

Germany is the leading nation in the international flotilla that has been deployed to stop arms smuggling along the Lebanese coast in accordance with UN resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah

The German official also praised the Lebanese army who fought pitched battles for 15 weeks with Sunni fundamentalist militants and managed to crush the movement which was holed up in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon.

'I have praised this achievement by the Lebanese army in fighting terrorism,' Jung added.

The fighting with the al-Qaeda inspired Fatah al-Islam resulted in the deaths of 222 militants and 170 soldiers.

'We hope stability will prevail in Lebanon. We will continue our support for an independent and sovereign Lebanon,' said Jung.

Jung is on a one-day visit to Beirut and had earlier visited his country's naval force off the Lebanese coast.

'We intend to extend our parliamentary mandate for the UNIFIL operation for another year,' he told reporters after inspecting German forces on the frigate Bayern, the leading vessel in the maritime taskforce monitoring the Lebanese coast to prevent arms shipments to the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

Touring the vessel, Jung said: 'We have brought 39 vessels into Lebanese maritime security and I took a look at the training effort.'

'UNIFIL is a comprehensive mission which involves ground forces who are also helping the army but we the Germans are responsible for maritime security,' he added.

On his arrival in Lebanon, Jung said the German military's mandate was in close connection with the peace effort.

Jung also pointed to the upcoming Middle East tour by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to prepare the way for the planned US Mideast conference in late November. The European Union is working on a 'European Action Plan' for the Middle East.

Jung later met Lebanese army commander Michel Suleiman in Beirut's naval base and witnessed the training of Lebanese naval forces by German officers as well as inspecting a coastal radar system donated by Germany.

The German minister praised the Lebanese naval forces and expressed 'continued cooperation with the Lebanese army on all levels.'

Suleiman thanked the German government for its donations 'regarding technical assistance for the naval forces,' and praised the German monitoring of the Lebanese coast.

Lebanon is the first leg of Jung's five-day tour of the Middle East. The minister will visit the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and then Jordan and Israel later.

In Jordan, Jung is due to hold talks in Amman on Wednesday before visiting the German frigate Augsburg in the port of Aqaba. The ship is involved in anti-terrorism operations as part of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom.

The final leg of the tour takes him to Israel where he will meet Defence Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv during a two-day stay lasting until Friday.