Communicated by the 
Foreign Ministry Spokesman 
 Jerusalem, September 17, 2000

Acting Foreign Minister Ben Ami Meets with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan


Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami met on September 14 with the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. At the beginning of their discussion, the Acting Foreign Minister emphasized that this was a unique moment for Israel-UN relations, both with regard to the central role played by the UN in the departure from southern Lebanon, and Israel's acceptance as a member of the Western European and Others Group in the UN (WEOG). 

The Secretary General responded: "The UN is also your organization." Kofi Annan promised to deal with the return of SLA personnel to Lebanon, and expressed his concern regarding the incidents at the Fatma Gate which could potentially lead to a violent outburst. 

Acting Foreign Minister Ben-Ami met earlier in the day with the Greek Foreign Minister, and later with the Foreign Ministers of Spain, Morocco and Tunisia. In the evening, he met with the US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, to discuss the continuation of the peace process.