Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri , who is in France on a private visit received at his residence French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner .

During their meeting they discussed the current developments in Lebanon and specially the situation of the UNIFIL forces in south Lebanon and the need to enforce UN SCR 1701.

Kouchner briefed Hariri on the results of the meeting held few days ago in Paris to raise funds for the Palestinians and stressed in his meeting the importance of lifting the Gaza blockade.

Following the meeting Kouchner said: The tension in the region is due to the fact that the Palestinian problem has not been resolved , stressing the importance of activating the peace process in order to create a Palestinian state.

He said “the most important issue today is peace” in the Middle East and called on all parties in the region not to spare any effort in achieving peace.