Military

Addressing journalists at Baabda Presidential Palace in Beirut after his meeting with President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Selim El-Hoss, Mr. Larsen said the discussions had been "especially constructive."

He said he had informed the Lebanese Government that Israel had committed itself to addressing violations of the border and added that "most of the violations we have observed have already been rectified."

Regarding the deployment of UN peacekeepers throughout southern Lebanon, Mr. Larsen said the matter was to be taken up by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, and the Lebanese Army. The operational aspects of deployment would be addressed "as soon as we hit the point of zero violations of the blue line," he said.

The UN envoy also announced progress towards the 27 July launch of an Ambassadorial-level meeting where the urgent needs of South Lebanon would be presented to key donor representatives. He said he hoped the event would be "a major donor effort for the South of Lebanon," and called it an opportunity for the international community "to pledge its support and commitment to the immediate needs of the south within the context of support to Lebanon's development."

Mr. Larsen's programme today also included meeting with the Ambassadors of the Security Council's five permanent member States. He is to continue his high-level meetings tomorrow and return to New York on Sunday.