MADRID: Syria’s territorial integrity must be preserved following Bashar Assad’s ouster in an Islamist-led militant offensive, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday during talks in Madrid with his Lebanese counterpart.
During his meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Sanchez “stressed the need for a peaceful and stable Syria, for the benefit of the Syrian people and all countries in the region, especially Lebanon,” the Spanish government said in a statement after the closed-door meeting.
“He also called for an orderly political transition for the Syrian people while maintaining the territorial integrity of the country and avoiding further escalation in the region,” it added.
Sanchez and Mikati also discussed the situation in Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah reached a fragile ceasefire agreement at the end of November after two months of all-out war.
The priority is for this agreement to become a “permanent ceasefire” and “pave the way for the full application” of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulates that southern Lebanon must be free of arms that do not belong to the Lebanese state, the Spanish government statement said.
Adopted in August 2006, the resolution was key to ending the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 and paving the way for long-term stability along the border.
“We confirm Lebanon’s commitment” to this resolution, Mikati wrote on social network X, stressing the need for Israel to “respect the ceasefire decision and withdraw from the cities of southern Lebanon.”