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1st LD: UN Security Council hails election of new president in Lebanon

Xinhua, November 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN Security Council on Tuesday welcomed the election of Michel Aoun as the new president of Lebanon as "a critical step to overcome Lebanon's political and institutional crisis."

"The Security Council urges the new president of the Republic of Lebanon and Lebanese leaders to build on their efforts thus far by continuing to work constructively to promote the country's stability, and by swiftly forming a government," the 15-nation UN body said in a press statement.

"The Security Council stresses that the formation of a unity government and the election of a parliament by May 2017, in accordance with the Constitution, are critical for Lebanon's stability and resilience to withstand regional challenges," the statement said.

Former army chief Michel Aoun, an 81-year-old Christian, was sworn in as Lebanon's 13th president on Monday, ending the country's presidential vacancy that lasted almost two and a half years.

Lebanon had been without a president since May 2014, when former President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended. Since then, the parliament had held 45 failed sessions to elect a successor, each time failing to make a quorum. Endit