Secretary-General says Israel and Lebanon should cooperate as talks begin, warns reciprocal actions fuel instability

When asked about direct talks in Washington between Lebanon and Israel, the Secretary-General said the meetings should not be expected to resolve all problems but could create conditions for actors to change their behavior.

He warned that "Hezbollah and Israel have always helped each other to destabilize the government of Lebanon," describing a cycle in which Israeli incursions give Hezbollah a pretext to refuse disarmament and Hezbollahs rocket fire prompts Israeli operations. He noted Lebanons government is committed to territorial integrity and to having a monopoly on the use of force, which implies disarmament of militias.

"So it's time for Israel and Lebanon to be working together instead of Lebanon being the victim of this kind of negative...conjugation of the actions of the Hezbollah and Israel," the Secretary-General said, urging cooperation rather than escalation.

The Secretary-General did not specify a UN role for any future talks in Washington during this exchange.