Robert J Graziano, the newly appointed commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said on February 14 that the Chinese peacekeeping officers and men had done a splendid job in Lebanon and won wide appreciation from the local people for the UN Interim Force.

　　On that day, Graziano also expressed his appreciation to the Chinese government for sending the Chinese servicemen to participate in the UN peacekeeping operation in Lebanon when he met with Liu Zhiming, Chinese ambassador to Lebanon, at the place in southern Lebanon where the UN Interim Force in Lebanon was stationed. He said that during the Lebanon- Israel conflict last year, the Chinese peacekeepers braved heavy gunfire to fulfill large amount of missions, such as removing explosives, sweeping mines, performing engineering support missions and carrying out humanitarian rescue operations, etc. and achieved great success, thus they had won wide acclaim for the UN Interim Force and been well received by the local Lebanese people.

　　Ambassador Liu Zhiming said that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has attached great importance to the UN peacekeeping operations and sent its highly disciplined and well-trained troops to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. He expressed his conviction that the Chinese peacekeepers would surely accomplish their peacekeeping mission in Lebanon with flying colors.

　　After the meeting, Ambassador Liu went to the place where the field engineers are stationed to visit the Chinese peacekeepers.

　　By Wang Xin and Pan Liwen

　　(Feb 16, PLA Daily)