Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received Prime Minister Najib Mikati at his residence in Rome.
During the meeting, the pair discussed developments on the Palestinian and Lebanese arenas.
Conferees agreed on the importance of working and mobilizing all efforts to ensure the success of the ceasefire in Lebanon, stabilize the situation there, and achieve security and peace in Lebanon, and to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, allow humanitarian aid to enter, Israel to withdraw completely, and for the State of Palestine to assume its duties in the Gaza Strip in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2735, in addition to implementing the decision of the International Court of Justice to end the occupation and hold an international peace conference in the middle of next year.
Mikati stressed the importance of the State of Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations, and achieving more international recognition for the State of Palestine.
The Prime Minister held a meeting with the Arab ambassadors accredited to Italy, at the invitation of Lebanon's Ambassador to Rome, Mira Daher, and in the presence of Lebanon's Ambassador to the Vatican, Ghadi Khoury.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister explained the circumstances Lebanon is experiencing and the efforts that led to reaching an agreement on a ceasefire, considering that "the main challenge is to oblige the committee tasked with following up on this file, Israel, to stop its violations and withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory."
He said: "We are waiting for these measures to be implemented with an American-French guarantee, but we do not see an Israeli commitment to that."
He added: "Our army has begun expanding its deployment in the south and its morale is very high, and it is working to extend the authority of Lebanese legitimacy, so that there are no weapons outside the legitimate weapons. In this context, we are counting on the continued support of our brothers and friends for the army at all levels to enable it to fully perform its role."
Regarding the file of the presidency of the republic, he said: "It is true that our government is doing its utmost to manage the affairs of the state and is cooperating with all international institutions, but what is required is that a new president of the republic be elected in order to complete the constitutional institutions. All eyes are on the session of January 9, in the hope that it will lead to the election of a president and the formation of a new government that will carry out the required reforms."
Regarding the Syrian file, he concluded: “We must respect the will of the Syrian people, and we wish them all the best. We also look forward to relations between the two countries based on mutual respect and the interests of the two peoples.”
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