Livni: Mutual interest to bring about long-term change to the region.
By JPOST.COM STAFFLivni solana 298.88(photo credit: AP)
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Wednesday that Israel intended to work with the international community on the basis of the G-8 declaration which called for the deployment of an international supervisory force in south Lebanon to bring about a cease fire in the region.
At a joint press conference with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Livni reiterated that Israel demands that in addition to disarming Hizbullah, the three kidnapped soldiers are returned without any pre-conditions while attacks, both from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, are halted.
"As a condition to a ceasefire, Israel demands the enforcement of the UN Security Council resolution that calls for the deployment of the Lebanese Army throughout the country, the dismantling of Hizbullah and the prevention of the organization from rearming."
Livni said it was in everybody's interest to ensure peace and to accelerate a process that will bring long-term change to the region.
Solana said he was searching for a way to stop the crisis. "This is one of the hardest periods for the Middle East," he added. "Many people are suffering including families of captured soldiers."
The EU foreign policy chief reiterated that the EU strongly condemned the kidnapping of the soldiers. "There are no grounds for a kidnapping like this, it in unacceptable, and it needs to be stressed in every way possible and to say it firmly and clearly."
Solana said that the bloodshed had to stop both in Lebanon and Gaza, hinting that Israel should show more restraint.
