Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Monday afternoon at the Grand Serail with the Ambassadors and deputy heads of mission of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: US Ambassador Elizabeth Richard, Russian Ambassador Alexander Zasypkin, Chinese Ambassador Wang Kejian, British Chargé d'Affaires Benjamin Wastnage and French Chargé d'Affaires Salina Grenet-Catalano, and discussed with them the latest developments and the situation in Lebanon and the region.

During the meeting, Hariri informed the attendees that he called for this meeting because of the gravity of the situation after the clear Israeli violation of the Lebanese sovereignty and UNSCR 1701, and the targeting of a populated civilian area, without any consideration for the international law or the civilian lives.

He said: “The Lebanese Government finds an interest in avoiding any slide towards a serious escalation, but this requires the international community to prove its rejection of this flagrant violation of our sovereignty and of resolution 1701.”

Hariri also informed them that Lebanon will file an official complaint to the UN Security Council about what happened, saying: “It is very important that your countries maintain the existing consensus among them to preserve security and stability in Lebanon and the region, because any escalation may turn into a regional round of violence, the scope of which no one can predict.”

He added: “Israel must be held responsible for its continued violations of resolution 1701 since 2006. It must also be held responsible for the blatant attack on Beirut suburbs, while knowing in advance that this would threaten the existing balance that preserved the security of the international border for 13 years.”   

Hariri announced that the Higher Defense Council will hold a meeting tomorrow afternoonto discuss the developments, and hoped that the attendees would remain in contact to follow up things.  

Earlier, Hariri received the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis in the presence of former Minister Ghattas Khoury. Discussions focused on the situation, particularly the latest developments in Lebanon.