The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Pier Ferdinando Casini, today urged all the parties concerned in the Middle East conflict to seize the momentum provided by the adoption of Security Council resolution 1701 and turn it into an opportunity for peace and stability in the region.

In his meeting with the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mr. Fouad Siniora, the IPU President agreed that implementation of resolution 1701 had to be accompanied by a political process that would result in the withdrawal of all Israeli forces, the release of all detained Lebanese and Israeli citizens, and a solution being found to the problem of the Shebaa Farms.

The President made his remarks as he concluded a three-nation tour of the Middle East together with the Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson, which took them from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Jordan and Lebanon.

Speaking upon his arrival in Beirut, President Casini expressed the solidarity of the IPU and the world parliamentary community with the Lebanese parliament and people. He noted that Lebanon suffered all the contradictions of the region. He underscored that the adoption and full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 offered an opportunity to bring peace and stability to Lebanon and the Middle East. It placed a very heavy burden on all the countries and organizations involved, including the leaders in Lebanon who had to work together towards the common goal.

Referring to the terrorist attacks that had taken place five years ago to the day, President Casini extended his and IPU's solidarity to the American people and expressed the hope that all peoples in the region would soon be able to live in peace and stability within secure and internationally recognized borders. This also included the Palestinian people who should have their own State, he noted. President Casini also called for the liberation of the detained Palestinian legislators and Israeli hostages. He concluded by offering IPU's support, through for example parliamentary diplomacy, towards achieving peace and stability in the region.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 146 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
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