Terje Roed-Larsen, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy to Syria and Lebanon, told the Security Council in a briefing: "UN election experts will arrive in Beirut early next week, with the full understanding of the government of Lebanon." He added: "The secretary general has also encouraged the idea that international election observers be invited to monitor the elections. In close cooperation with particularly the European Union, we will continue our constructive dialogue with the government of Lebanon on this matter."However, Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud told The Daily Star Lebanon had not asked for such a UN mission. He said: "We never asked for any technical help from the UN in preparing for the elections. But we won't oppose such a mission, because we want the whole world to see that our electoral process will be a free and democratic one."