(AGI) - Beirut. Oct. 11 - Lebanon and Italy "have to same goals of stability and peace and Italy is trying to guarantee this goal not only with its personal effort, but also with the commitment of the European and international community.

." The president of the council, Romano Prodi, opens his visit in Lebanon with a meeting with the premier Fouad Siniora and underlines the relationship of "friendship and brotherhood" between the two countries, not only on the economic and business side. Prodi said, "I came here for a personal gratitude for Siniora and for the Lebanese people for the seriousness, the firmness, the long-term vision that they had during this summer's crisis. I am convinced that together we can work not only for the security and the political guarantee of this country, but also for the re-organization and its society." Even Siniora underlined that shared understanding between the two countries and thanked Italy both for its commitment in Unifil and for its willingness to offer help for the reconstruction of the country. Prodi, in fact, spoke of "cooperation for the reconstruction of the public works of art," while in one of the premier's messages on English and French newspapers published in Beirut ('Daily Star and 'Orient le Jour') its is reported that the Italian government has already decided on giving a 30 million euro assistance. Both Prodi and Siniora underlined the importance of Resolution 1701 that, even though it cannot increase its limits, must be completely implemented. Only in this way will peace be reached in Lebanon and the consequent stabilization of the entire area. For Prodi "it is crucial that the resolution is applied without hesitation and ambiguity, in order to guarantee stability and improve the relations with the near-by countries, with the goal of constructing a lasting peace." Both Prodi and Siniora mentioned how the time for bilateral protections is over because "everything must be agreed on in the international community," said the Italian premier. For Prodi the stabilization of Lebanon is now the priority, but the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must not be forgotten. He stated, "Everything has its timing but there will be no stable peace without an agreement between these two states, guaranteed by an international environment. Lebanon in all this is the demonstration of how a shared commitment is necessary to resolve these problems. I hope the presence of Russians, Chinese and Asians in Unifil is the first step for a global commitment in favour of a solution to the oldest and most difficult conflict that currently exists." (AGI) -