ALGIERS, Algeria 

Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf called Thursday for the establishment of a partnership between the Arab League and the United Nations to strengthen peace and security in the Arab region.

Attaf made the proposal during a speech while chairing a UN Security Council meeting convened by Algeria to discuss cooperation between the two organizations.

Algerie Presse Service (APS), Algeria’s official news agency, reported that Attaf urged the creation of a "purposeful and effective partnership between the Arab League and the United Nations to reinforce the pillars of peace and security in the Arab region."

He said the scope of this partnership could include "promoting a just and definitive resolution to the Palestinian issue, ending foreign interventions in the internal affairs of Arab states, and breaking the stalemate in political processes aimed at resolving various crises in the Arab world."

Addressing the situation in several Arab countries, Attaf emphasized that supporting Lebanon should "hold a central position in the cooperation between the Arab League and the United Nations to enable this brotherly nation to overcome the disturbances it has endured over the past years."

*Writing by Rani Abu Shamala