Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that his country will not be an “arena for the conflicts of others” or a bargaining chip, and called for a ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal and all weapons to be held by the Lebanese state, according to Al Jazeera.

In New York, Salam’s meetings have so far failed to secure Lebanon’s request for a six-month extension of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mandate, and Beirut has been pushing for an international force to fill the gap after the mission ends, according to Ya Libnan. In the same session, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi called for a sovereign Palestinian state and said there can be no stability in the Middle East without a just solution to the Palestinian issue, according to Al Jazeera.