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The United Nations Secretary General’s spokesman said on Friday that the peacekeeping in Lebanon and the ceasefire monitoring in Sri Lanka were two different issues that could not be compared.

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric was responding to questions from a journalist at the United Nations in New York.

The transcript of the Q&A is as follows:

Question: I have a question that starts with Sri Lanka and ends up in Lebanon. Now, there’s an announcement that the Swedish Head of the outgoing Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Brigadier Ulf Henricsson, slams the European Union for listing the Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka as terrorists. Now, because of this, the Swedish, Finnish and Danish members of the Mission are leaving. But, Norwegians and Icelanders, who are not part of the European Union, are staying. Now, with this in mind, can we look forward to something like that -- that if a country has declared Hezbollah “terrorists”, they will not be allowed to be on the Force? How does the 38th Floor look on the Sri Lanka situation, and how does it reflect on Lebanon?

UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric: They are two separate…

Question: I know they are different.

Spokesman: It’s exactly that. They’re different.

Question: But, the implication is there.

Spokesman: I’m not going to go into this. I’m not going to follow into your line of questioning. The United Nations Force is operating under a mandate, unanimously voted by the Security Council, to push -- to strengthen -- the Lebanese Government to implement [resolutions] 1701, 1559. Everyone knows the parameters. We will seek the support of the international community.