BEIRUT, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday that Lebanon is keen to join the Ottawa Treaty aimed at eliminating anti-personnel landmines around the world.
"Lebanon does not mind joining this treaty especially that it has never manufactured or used landmines while we have suffered a lot from Israel's plantation of landmines as a weapon since its war against our country in July 2006," Aoun was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the presidency.
Aoun's remarks came during his meeting at Baabda Palace with Princess Astrid of Belgium, a longtime advocate of landmine survivors' rights.
Aoun said that Lebanon has already implemented the treaty's conditions and the Lebanese are working hard on cleaning territories all over the country from landmines.
"We need a lot of help in this regard," he said.
The Lebanese Mine Action Center told Xinhua that contaminated areas including cluster bombs, unexploded ordnances and landmines, cover an area of 47 million square meters all over Lebanon.
