Mideast situation – Letter from Japan (excerpts)

Letter dated 1 August 2000 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit to you herewith the G-8 statement on regional issues, which was adopted at the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit Meeting held in Okinawa, Japan, from 21 to 23 July 2000 (see annex).

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex distributed as a document of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly, under items 20 (c), 40, 41, 45, 50, 52, 65, 72, 74 (a), 74 (i), 74 (m), 74 (p), 74 (q) and 82 of the provisional agenda, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Kiyotaka Akasaka

Ambassador

Chargé d’affaires a.i.

Annex to the letter dated 1 August 2000 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

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Middle East peace process

In the Middle East, there is a real opportunity for the achievement of a comprehensive peace based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the agreements made in Madrid and Oslo. We reaffirm our strong support for the efforts by the parties concerned to advance the peace process towards this end. We reiterate the importance we attach to a continuing commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes.

In the light of the trilateral summit meeting on a peace between Israel and the Palestinians, we applaud the intensive efforts by President Arafat and Prime Minister Barak, with the facilitation of President Clinton, to reach agreement on all permanent status issues. We welcome their courageous decision to continue negotiations, and confirm our support for their endeavours. We confirm too our commitment to assist the implementation of a peace agreement, and invite the international community to participate in the efforts to help the parties implement such an agreement when it is reached.

We underline the importance of resuming the activities of the multilateral working groups, recognizing that progress in the multilateral tracks is related to and supports the bilateral tracks.

We condemn any violent attempts by extremists and terrorists to interfere with the Middle East peace process, and call for a cessation of support for such violence.

We welcome the recent withdrawal of the Israeli forces from Lebanon, in accordance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978), as verified by the Secretary-General and confirmed by the Security Council. It is the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon to ensure the return of its effective authority to maintain peace and security in southern Lebanon. Being aware that attaining these goals will also depend on the Government’s ability to meet the infrastructure and development needs of this region, we are committed to supporting its efforts to this end.

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