Britain plays down Hezbollah contactsForeign Secretary David Miliband Miliband is the surname of the following people, all members of the same family:
The Militant Group was an early British Trotskyist group, formed in 1935 by Denzil Dean Harber, former leader of the Marxist Group, as an entrist group . Amid reports of US discontent over London's decision to open low-level contact with the political wing of Hezbollah, a group viewed as terrorists in Washington, Miliband said Britain was committed to the group's disarmament disarmament Reduction in armaments by one or more nations. Arms reductions may be imposed by a war's victors on the defeated (as happened after Germany's defeat in World War I). . "We decided last summer that we would resume contact with carefully selected Hezbollah MPs" after the group joined the Lebanese national unity government, he said. "We are not conducting negotiations with the leadership of Hezbollah." Speaking at a press conference in London following talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem Walid al Muallem (born 1941) is the current foreign minister of Syria and a long-time diplomat for that country. He took office as foreign minister on February 11 2006 during a cabinet reshuffle in which his predecessor Farouk al-Sharaa became vice-president. , Miliband confirmed that Britain's ambassador in Damascus had attended two meetings with Hezbollah MPs. "Our intention has been first of all to reiterate re·it·er·ate tr.v. re·it·er·at·ed, re·it·er·at·ing, re·it·er·ates To say or do again or repeatedly. See Synonyms at repeat. re·it our commitment to all aspects of (United Nations) resolution 1701, all aspects of resolution 1701 including the need to demobilise Verb 1. demobilise - release from military service or remove from the active list of military service demobilize, inactivate muster out, discharge - release from military service 2. militias," he said. "At the same time we are ready to listen to what the Hezbollah MPs have to say." Resolution 1701, passed unanimously in 2006, ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah. It demands the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon but Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, retains its arsenal. Miliband said he and Muallem had discussed the recent Lebanese election, in which a Hezbollah-led alliance lost the election to a Western-backed coalition, and applauded the "relatively good security" during the campaign. A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in March that he was unhappy with Britain's overtures o·ver·ture n. 1. Music a. An instrumental composition intended especially as an introduction to an extended work, such as an opera or oratorio. b. to Hezbollah. He said he would like the British to explain to him "the difference between the political, military and social wings of Hezbollah because we don't see a difference between the integrated leadership that they see." 
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