Britain Concerned About Hizbullah Efforts to Rearm
Visiting British Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis expressed concern on Thursday about alleged Hizbullah efforts to rearm, saying this is not in line with U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.
His stance came during a meeting with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, who in turn said that Lebanon hasn”t yet received from the Security Council any proof about arms smuggling to Hizbullah.
Salloukh told Lewis that U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon”s latest report did not mention arms smuggling to the Shiite group, which is an internal issue being discussed on the national dialogue table.
The minister also met with President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri.
After his talks with Suleiman at Baabda palace, Lewis expressed his country”s readiness to help in Lebanon”s reconstruction. "Britain believes that political and economic reforms in Lebanon are very important to guarantee a prosperous future."
The British envoy said his country was worried about violations of resolution 1701, stressing "Lebanon should seriously continue to implement it."
He added that British officials have continuously urged Israel to end violations of Lebanese sovereignty.
Lewis arrived in Beirut Wednesday on a two-day visit following a similar trip to Syria as part of a Middle East tour.