TEHRAN (Tasnim) – United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag described her recent meetings with senior Iranian officials in Tehran as “constructive” and “helpful”.

"Today was my first opportunity to meet in his new capacity Deputy Foreign Minister (Hossein Jaberi) Ansari; I think we had very constructive discussions. I also met (deputy foreign) minister Araqchi. It is always helpful, instructive and insightful to review issues in the region and also how they affect Lebanon, and of course it was an opportunity for me also to speak about the depth of the issues we see when it comes to Lebanon’s fragile stability and pass messages around our concerns for the country’s stability if we project it over time,” Kaag said in an interview with Tasnim.

“I have regular contact with Iranian officials in New York, when I’m there to brief the Security Council, and of course also in Tehran; this is my fourth visit or fifth, in over two and a half to three year time span. I’ve also visited when I was in charge of the joint mission to eliminate the declared chemical weapons program of the Syrian Arab Republic, so this is an ongoing dialogue,” she added.

“…and of course I meet very regularly also with your ambassador in Beirut and sometimes with visiting delegations. We are equally in regular contact with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey and other countries in the region. This also includes regular consultations on Security Council resolution 1701 with regard to Lebanon and Israel. It depends on the issue; it depends on the level of engagement of the country with Lebanon and of course the types of relations.

It is part of the Good Offices that any special representative of the Secretary General exercises and it’s very important to be in constant dialogue and contact with all possible parties because we need to establish not only what the common concerns are, but also where the solutions lie, when you look at it from the viewpoint of conflict prevention, collective security and stability.”

By Tasnim News Agency