Mansour meets Moallem in New York

Lebanese foreign minister Adnan Mansour met with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem,his assistant Faisal al-Mekdad and the Syrian delegate to the U.N. Bashar Jaafari in New York on Saturday, according to “An-Nahar” newspaper.

Mansour and Moallem mentioned the contacts that are being held after the Palestinian president submitted an application for full membership at the United Nations.

They touched on the situation in the region, and stressed the importance of the international presence at the U.N. Security Council to vote on Palestine’s membership, according to sources close to the Lebanese delegation.

On the Syrian internal level, Moallem said the situation in Syria has improved substantially, and then submitted the reforms and practical steps the Syrian leadership is intending to carry out in the next few months.

The sources added that Mansour was confident the Syrian government will overcome the current crisis by heeding its people’s aspirations. “The Syrian leadership needs its friends and brothers to help it carry out reforms”, Mansour said.

Mansour also held a meeting with his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini where they discussed the UNIFIL’s work. Frattini assured that his country will take back the UNIFIL’s command when the current Spanish mandate comes to an end.