<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and Defense, Margarita Robles, received the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, in Madrid. They discussed, in particular, Spain's participation in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).</strong></h4> "I received the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, in Madrid," Albares stated via social media. "Spain is firmly committed to the United Nations system and its peacekeeping missions, such as UNIFIL in Lebanon," he wrote. "Its role is fundamental to global peace and security," he concluded. Shortly before his meeting with Lacroix, which took place this Tuesday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Albares assured the media that Spain has "no plan to increase its troops" in UNIFIL and that "there is no request" in this regard from the UN. "There are around 700 soldiers in UNIFIL," making this contingent Spain's "largest" abroad, Albares stated at the press conference following the Council of Ministers. "UNIFIL itself is led by Spanish General Aroldo Lázaro," he recalled. "There is no request, and I do not expect any request, from Lacroix" to increase the Spanish presence, he concluded. For her part, Margarita Robles received Jean-Pierre Lacroix this Wednesday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, with whom she discussed the work of the Spanish contingent in UNIFIL and Spain's commitment to other UN peacekeeping missions. The minister was accompanied at the meeting by the Secretary General for Defense Policy, Admiral Juan Francisco Martínez Núñez. During the meeting, Robles and Lacroix held a telephone conversation with Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro and Brigadier General Fernando Ruiz, who leads the Multinational Brigade in the Eastern Sector. "We will continue there as long as requested," Robles stated regarding the mission in Lebanon. For his part, according to a press release from the Ministry, Lacroix expressed his gratitude to the nearly 700 Spanish soldiers present in the area, who, in recent months, like the rest of the UNIFIL members, "have gone through very difficult and dangerous times." He also expressed his gratitude for the leadership of Lieutenant General Lázaro, whose mandate is about to end. The UNIFIL mission has 11,000 troops under the common flag of the United Nations. Spain's participation began in September 2006 as part of Operation Libre Hidalgo, deploying its military personnel to southern Lebanon with the aim of contributing to the implementation of United Nations Resolution 1701.
