BEIRUT: U.N. Resident Coordinator for Lebanon Robert Watkins met with Hezbollah’s official for international relations, Ammar Musawi, Monday to discuss the situation in south Lebanon in light of recent security incidents.

According to a statement released by Hezbollah's press office, Musawi affirmed the role of the Lebanese Army in preserving security and stability in the south in cooperation with UNIFIL, saying Hezbollah rejected any harm to domestic stability, particularly in that area.

Musawi expressed the party's view of the latest review by the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the implementation of U.N Security Council Resolution 1701, which Ban handed to the Security Council in November.

In the report the U.N. chief criticized the presence of Hezbollah as a threat to Lebanon’s stability, and called on the government to hold national dialogue and work toward a national defense strategy.

“The presence of Hezbollah and other armed groups operating outside the control of the state poses a continuous threat to Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability,” he said in the 27-page document.

Hezbollah slammed the report after it was published, saying Ban was biased toward the West and adding that the report contained fallacies.

Musawi said Monday the report was not "balanced" and did not reflect the real situation in south Lebanon particularly in terms of Israel's repeated violations.

During the meeting, the Hezbollah official also said that such repeated violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty reveal Israeli's interest in destabilizing security of the south, referring to recent security incidents in south Lebanon such as the Dec. 9 roadside bomb targeting UNIFIL near Tyre.

France has accused Syria and Hezbollah of being behind the attack on UNIFIL, along with Lebanese lawmakers who have said that Hezbollah must have known of the attacks given the party's strong security presence in the south.

After the meeting, Watkins told reporters that he had mainly discussed the security situation in the south with Musawi, describing the several attacks against UNIFIL as “very unsatisfactory.”

“We are very concerned obviously about the attack against UNIFIL. We are very grateful for the statement made by Hezbollah condemning this attack some ten days ago,” the U.N. official said.

“We very much hope and expect that the Lebanese authorities will take the necessary measures to bring those responsible to justice,” he added.

He also said that the U.N. expected both Israel and Lebanon to take the necessary steps to fully implement resolution 1701.