NNA - Prime Minister Najib Mikati received American presidential envoy Amos Hochstein this afternoon at his home in Beirut, in the presence of US Ambassador Lisa Johnson and Hochstein's accompanying delegation.

During their talks, the Prime Minister affirmed that "Lebanon does not seek escalation, and what is required is to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon and return to calm and stability on the southern border."

"We continue to seek to stop the escalation, restore security and stability, and cease the ongoing violations of Lebanese sovereignty and the acts of systematic killing and destruction committed by Israel," Mikati underlined.

He stressed that "the continuing Israeli threats to Lebanon will not prevent us from pursuing our endeavors to establish tranquility, which is a priority for us and all of Lebanon's friends."

For his part, Hockstein made a brief statement following the meeting, in which he said: “As usual, I had good discussions with the Prime Minister. We are passing through serious times and critical moments, and we are working together to try to find ways to reach a place where we prevent further escalation, as I mentioned in my previous statement.”

==========R.Sh.