 French President Jacques Chirac, who received on Friday Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, reiterated France's attachment to the full implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1559. "Chirac reiterated France's attachment to the full implementation of this resolution ... Therefore the upcoming Lebanese parliamentary elections are a crucial step that will be closely watched by the international community," said Jerome Bonnafont, the Elysee's spokesman. The private meeting between Chirac and Sfeir, who also met with Pope John-Paul II earlier this week, was followed by a luncheon and took place at the Elysee Palace in Paris. The reunion mainly focused on "the relationship between France and Lebanon, the Lebanese internal situation, the position of Christians in the Middle East and the means to respond to the demands of the International community expressed by the 1559 Resolution," said Bonnafont. |