Miliband eyes contact with Hezbollah

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The British government is considering renewed contact with Hezbollah as the group gains political influence in Lebanon, the British foreign secretary said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in November handed in a list of officials for his new government that included two ministers from Hezbollah.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in an interview with Lebanon's English-language daily newspaper The Daily Star said London viewed "carefully considered contact with Hezbollah's politicians, including its MPs, will best advance our objective of the group rejecting violence to play a constructive role in Lebanese politics."

London included the military wing of Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations in 2008 following an earlier decision to sever contacts with the Shiite resistance movement.

Miliband said any talks with Hezbollah would be taken on a "case-by-case basis" and only under circumstances of national importance.

Hezbollah is obligated to disarm under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which helped broker a cease-fire to a 2006 war with Israel. Miliband said he views that resolution as a road map to "lasting stability in Lebanon."

Hezbollah, meanwhile, in its first manifesto in more than 20 years said it maintained the right to armed resistance against Israeli aggression.