Brussels, 24/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - On behalf of the European Commission, Commissioner Patten welcomed the withdrawal of the Israelis from Lebanon, urging the Lebanese authorities to cooperate with UNIFIL and to "assume their responsibilities" to ensure the security of southern Lebanon. The European executive has announced that a fact-finding mission would soon be going there to assess needs in terms of reconstruction and rehabilitation.
The High Representative for Cfsp, Javier Solana, for his part, stressed that "diplomatic efforts should now be concentrated on securing a tangible decrease of tension in and around Southern Lebanon". He assured UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, of his support for the latter's "efforts to stabilise the situation as soon as possible".