MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed to Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam the need to end the fighting in the republic, the Russian Foreign Ministry said following their meeting on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

"The sides held a substantive exchange of views on developments in the Middle East, with a focus on the situation in Lebanon and around it. Russia reaffirmed its principled position in support of the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of this friendly country," the statement said.

"The need to end the fighting in Lebanon and create conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict in accordance with the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 was emphasized," the Foreign Ministry added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also noted that the meeting gave particular attention to the possibility of maintaining a UN presence in the Republic of Lebanon in light of the upcoming expiration of the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.