Terje Roed-Larsen, United Nations Special Envoy to Southern Lebanon, will not give an ultimatum to Syria's Prime Minister for Syrian troops to get out of Lebanon, Marie Okabe, UN Spokesperson, said yesterday. "The UN is not open to the use of threats," said Okabe, refuting earlier press reports that Roed-Larsen, who met with Jordanian officials on Friday, will insist on Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1559. Any threats were "not his intention," said Okabe, who spoke with Roed-Larsen earlier Friday. Okabe stressed that Roed-Larsen is committed to "constructive dialogue" between the two parties. Roed-Larsen will meet with top officials in Lebanon tomorrow, and then move on to Syria for talks in support of resolution 1559. Last September the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, where they have stationed troops since 1975.
