Written question asked by Louise Ellman (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 June 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 June 2009. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Monday, 8 June 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Hezbollah

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Government's decision to explore contacts with the political wing of Hezbollah on Hezbollah's (a) actions, (b) policies and (c) structure.

Answer: On 9 January 2009 our ambassador in Beirut attended a meeting of British parliamentarians with the Lebanese Foreign Affairs Committee. Representatives of all members of the National Unity Government were present, including one MP from Hezbollah's political wing, Ali Amar. During this meeting the ambassador urged all sides to show restraint during the crisis in Gaza, and on the importance of all sides respecting the terms of UN Security Council resolution 1701. In the course of normal diplomatic business, staff at our embassy in Beirut have also met Hezbollah politicians on a number of occasions. However, there have been no official meetings since 9 January.We continue to believe that occasional and carefully considered contacts with Hezbollah's politicians, including its MPs, will best advance our objective of urging Hezbollah to reject violence and play a constructive, democratic and peaceful role in Lebanese politics, in line with UN Security Council Resolutions.

Secondary information