Former US president Jimmy Carter said on Tuesday he was ready to meet with Hezbollah officials if the Lebanese militant group agreed to see him.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate made his comments upon arrival in Lebanon, where he was to assess whether his Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center would take part in monitoring the country’s parliamentary elections next year.
WAITING FOR WORD
Asked whether he would meet with Hezbollah officials during his five-day visit, Carter told reporters that it was up to the militant group, which the US considers a terrorist organization.
“I am going to meet with all of the political parties as possible,” Carter said.
“I understand that several leaders of Hezbollah said they were not going to meet with any president or former president of the United States, so I don’t know yet,” he said.
A Hezbollah official said the group had no immediate comment on Carter’s remarks but might issue a statement, most likely yesterday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Carter was widely criticized in April when he met in Syria with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. The US also labels Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, a terrorist organiAation.
The Mashaal-Carter meeting led to the delivery of a handwritten letter from Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Hamas-linked militants near the Gaza border in 2006, to his parents.
LEBANESE LEADERS
While in Lebanon, Carter said he would meet with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
“I will also be making an assessment on whether the Carter Center will monitor the elections that we hope will be held on time next June,” Carter said.
Next year’s elections are expected to be fierce between US-backed groups that hold majority seats in the parliament and those backed by Syria, including Hezbollah.
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