British Minister Encourages Dialogue, Says IS Threat is 'Source of Concern'
Britain's Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood has said that he encouraged rival leaders to engage in dialogue and elect a new head of state.
Ellwood told An Nahar daily in remarks published on Thursday that during talks with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Tammam Salam he called for dialogue and stressed the importance of swiftly filling the vacuum at Baabda Palace.
Lebanon has been without a head of state since Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May.
Asked about the rising threat of the Islamic State in Lebanon and the world, the minister said: “The issue is a major source of concern for us in Lebanon which is Syria's neighbor.”
He called on security forces to better control the border with Syria after militants from the IS and al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front took Lebanese servicemen hostage during a cross border raid in the summer.
The gunmen, who overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August, engaged in deadly battles with the Lebanese army before withdrawing back to areas on the porous Lebanese-Syrian border.
They have executed four of the captives.
Following his talks with Salam on Wednesday, Ellwood said that by July next year, trade between the UK and Lebanon would have doubled in four years to £700m.
“We stand ready to help Lebanon take full advantage of the gas reserve located offshore, indeed a British company Spectrum is helping with the surveying as we speak,” he added.
Berri is spearheading a campaign to prioritize the offshore gas exploration file after accusing Israel of “stealing” oil from Lebanon's reserves.
Local dailies on Wednesday quoted Berri as saying that he agreed with the energy minister, the head of the parliamentary energy committee and the Petroleum Administration to adopt a series of measures to reactivate oil exploration, including the adoption of the decrees in parliament and the cabinet.
The conferees have also agreed on the designation of blocks, with priority given to those in Lebanon's territorial waters near the border with Israel.
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