Cameron Meets Miqati, Urges Lebanon to Honor STL Obligations

During talks with Premier Najib Miqati in London, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday urged Lebanon to honor its international obligations concerning the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Cameron pressed Miqati on the “need for Lebanon to meet (its) international obligations on (the) Tribunal,” British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher said on his Twitter account after the two men’s meeting.

The two also agreed on the need to respect U.N. Security Council resolutions relating to the Middle East, Fletcher said.

For his part, Miqati tweeted that his meeting with Cameron was “excellent.” He described the talks as “a step in the right direction for UK-Lebanese bilateral relations.”

Miqati’s government has come under increasing Western pressure to fund the U.N.-backed court probing the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri.

Before the talks on Monday, Miqati’s press office said the premier would discuss with Cameron the situation in the region, bilateral ties and ways to receive British technical, administrative and military assistance.

Earlier on Monday, Miqati met with Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Lord David Howell. He also discussed with Ambassador Fletcher the preparations for his meeting with the British PM.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman warned on Saturday that ties with Lebanon would suffer if Beirut fails to pay its share of funding to the tribunal.

"I’d expect the same thing in terms of some other countries as well," he said.

Lebanon is responsible for meeting 49 percent of the costs of the court. But the Hizbullah-led government has yet to pay its share, estimated at $33 million.

Miqati said Thursday that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah did not rule out funding the STL.

“I did not conclude that (Nasrallah) said ‘no’ to the tribunal,” Miqati told the BBC.

In remarks to Lebanese personalities residing in Britain, the premier stressed Monday “the need to fully cooperate with international resolutions including 1757” that established the STL.

“We can’t be selective in asking the international community, the Security Council and the U.N. to support the full implementation of 1701 in southern Lebanon and at the same time say that we don’t want to implement another resolution,” he said.

“I am sure that the cabinet will be at the level of responsibility” when the STL funding is put up for discussion, Miqati said.

“Whenever we find a solution to the issue of Lebanon’s share in the STL funding … we could go ahead in resolving the remaining essential issues,” he said.

Miqati also urged the Lebanese to remain united and preserve the stability of the nation.