Written question asked by David Cairns (Labour) on Friday, 25 February 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 March 2011. It was answered by Alistair Burt (Conservative) on Friday, 4 March 2011 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Hezbollah

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to seek the disarmament of Hezbollah in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Answer: We continue to press for the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR), most notably UNSCR 1701, which calls upon Hezbollah to disarm.During his visit to Damascus in January the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), the issue of Hezbollah's weapons with both President Assad and Foreign Minister Muallem, where he highlighted the dangers to stability in the region in allowing weapons smuggling to Hezbollah.The Prime Minister discussed UNSCR 1701 with Prime Minister Hariri during his visit to the UK in November 2010, underlining the need for Hezbollah to disarm to ensure the stability of Lebanon.Our embassies in Damascus and Beirut continue to press these points.

Secondary information