Lebanon's top Shiite cleric asked Britain on Sunday to adopt the European approach to the region rather than an American one which is using Lebanon to pressure on Syria and Iran.Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah made his comments during a meeting at his office with visiting British envoy to the Middle East Michael Williams, according to a statement released by the cleric's office. "We want Britain to be European and not to be American or work on the side of America's foreign policy in the region," the black-turbaned cleric said.
Fadlallah received Williams along with British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy, the statement said. The cleric was referring to the to Lebanon's serious political crisis that many in this country see as an indirect conflict between the United States and Syria. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's pro-Western, anti-Syrian government has been deadlocked for 11 months with the pro-Syrian opposition factions led by the militant group Hezbollah.
Many Arabs have criticized Britain in the past for being America's top ally during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Major European countries such as Germany and France were opposed to the war then.
"Britain should move with a new vision of how to end crisis in the region after the matters worsened because of the American intervention in the region and the support of the government of (former) British Prime Minister Tony Blair," the statement added.
The British envoy has been in Lebanon for several days where he has met government and opposition officials over the political crisis. On Thursday, Williams said he was optimistic that Lebanese politicians will reach an agreement in the coming weeks over next month's presidential elections.