Vietnam hails positive developmentsover the past three months in Lebanon , while remains concerned about anumber of unresolved issues that hinder an agreement on a permanentceasefire between the two parties.

VietnameseAmbassador and deputy representative to the UN Security Council Bui TheGiang made the remarks at a UNSC consultation meeting on theimplementation of Resolution 1701 on Lebanon in New York on July 8.

He said he is pleased to see “the generally stable situation in the UNInterim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)’s area of operations, the progress inthe continued tripartite cooperation between the parties and UNIFIL tovisibly mark the Blue Line, the handover to UNIFIL of technical strikedata for the cluster bombs used by Israeli military forces in the 2006war, and the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Lebanonand Syria.”

The Vietnamese diplomat took the occasion to congratulate the Lebanesepeople on the successful conduct of the parliamentary elections inearly June and call upon all parties in Lebanon to build on themomentum of reconciliation and unity recorded thus far in the NationalDialogue to proceed with an early and smooth formation of a newGovernment.

Regarding the unresolved issues, Giang urged the parties to translatetheir commitment into concrete and tangible steps to implementResolution 1701 on Lebanon .

“We reiterate our support for the collective efforts by the UnitedNations, the League of Arab States, regional countries and theinternational community aimed at a just, lasting and comprehensivepeace in the Middle East on the basis of relevant Security Councilresolutions, of which respect for territorial integrity, sovereigntyand political independence of Lebanon represents an integral part,”said the Vietnamese ambassador./.