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Hezbollah MP meets British ambassador
AFP
Hezbollah parliamentary leader Mohammad Raad met British ambassador Frances Guy on Thursday in the first such contact in Lebanon between the Shiite militant group's political wing and
a senior British official.
"The talks covered the recent election and the situation in the region," Hezbollah said in a statement.
"I believe the doors are open to further meetings," Raad told AFP.
The British embassy confirmed that the talks had covered local politics.
"Basically the meeting covered the elections and the
formation of a new government," an embassy press officer told AFP.
Lebanon's outgoing government of national unity was to hold its last meeting on Thursday before parliament is dissolved later this month to make way
for the new legislature elected in a June 7 poll.
A Hezbollah-led alliance, backed by Iran and Syria , lost the election to a Western-backed coalition.
The meeting also covered UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the press officer said.
Resolution 1701, passed unanimously in 2006, ended a devastating 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The resolution
demanded the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon but Hezbollah has retained its arsenal insisting it is needed for resistance against Israel .
A Foreign Office spokeswoman in London said Britain would make a
"distinction between those members of Hezbollah who are legitimately involved in Lebanese politics and those who are involved in violence and support terrorism.
"Our objective with Hezbollah remains unchanged:
that they reject violence and play a constructive, democratic and peaceful role in Lebanese politics, in line with the UN Security Council resolutions," she told AFP.
"We believe that occasional and carefully
considered contact with Hezbollah's politicians, including its MPs, will best advance this objective," she added.
"We will be taking a pragmatic approach to speaking to known moderates, political figures who to
the best of our knowledge have no links with acts of violence."
In March, Britain authorised low-level contact with the political wing of Hezbollah to stress the urgency of disbanding militias.
London has had
no official talks with Hezbollah since 2005, and last July added its military wing to a blacklist of designated terror groups.
Britain said it was prepared to engage in direct contacts with Hezbollah's political wing
after it joined the national unity government last year.
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