U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said the Security Council will closely follow up Lebanon's national dialogue on a defense strategy and hoped political factions would agree on a clear mechanism and a timeframe through which progress could be measured.
Lebanon's political factions held a new round of national talks Tuesday. So far, several rounds of talks have made no progress on the formation of a national defense strategy that could integrate Hizbullah's weapons into the regular armed forces.

Williams, who briefed the Security Council on Friday on the latest Secretary-General's report on the implementation of resolution 1701, played down risk of renewed fighting between Israel and Hizbullah but urged the two sides to refrain from further "inflammatory" words.

He told reporters in New York that he briefed the Council "on the recent rise in rhetoric and public threats between Israel and Lebanon which have generated concerns of a renewed confrontation" and are "utterly unhelpful."

"This public rhetoric and brinkmanship contravenes the spirit of (Security Council) Resolution 1701 and is utterly unhelpful," he noted.

Williams said that in his private talks with Israeli and Lebanese officials, both sides, in contrast to some of their public utterances, "continue to express their commitment to the prevailing cessation of hostilities and to the full implementation of Resolution 1701."

"I believe that it is these private statements, rather than the public rhetoric, that convey their true intentions and I have called on all relevant parties to desist from inflammatory statements," he added.

Williams welcomed Lebanon's moves to improve the management of its borders, which he hopes will also receive a boost from the country's improved relations with Syria.

In that report, Ban writes that the foundation for a permanent ceasefire has been laid by the new strategic environment and the relative stability in southern Lebanon, which UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces helped establish.