Now on bbc news, its hardtalk. Welcome to hardtalk. Im stephen sackur. All of the conflicts and tensions in the wider middle east coalesce in one small nation lebanon. Currently a quarter of the lebanese population is made up of refugees from syria. Iran wields huge influence in lebanon thanks to its sponsorship of the militant Group Hezbollah, and israel has a long history of intervention in its northern neighbour. My guest today is lebanons foreign minister gebran bassil. Is his government making lebanons problems worse . Gebran bassil, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you. Once again, it looks as though lebanon could be drawn in to a dangerous regional conflict, and your government appears to be doing nothing right now to reduce the tension. Why is that . Actually, we want to avoid getting into any trouble. Our policy is to be disassociated from any conflict in the region but we are obliged to protect our country and we are repeatedly aggressed by israeli violations of Un Resolution 1701.
With stephen sackur. Welcome too hard to talk. I am a stephen sackur. All of the conflicts and tensions in the wider middle east coalesce in the discordant politics of one small state lebanon. Currently a quarter of the lebanese population is made of syrians seeking refuge from war. Iran wields huge influence through its sponsorship of the Shia Islamist Group Hezbollah, while israel has a history of intervention in its northern neighbour. My guest today is Lebanese Foreign minister gebran bassil. Is his government making lebanons problems worse . Gebran bassil, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you. Once again, it looks as though lebanon could be drawn in to a dangerous regional conflict. And your government appears to be doing nothing right now to reduce the tension. Why is that . Actually, we wa nt to tension. Why is that . Actually, we want to avoid getting into any trouble. Our policy is to be disassociated from any conflict in the region but we are obliged to protect our country and we a
Amin salam in beirut, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you, thank you, stephen. Always a pleasure. Well, its great to have you back on the show and if i may, i want to start with some words you said just one week after october 7 that is, after the hamas Attack On Southern Israel and at the very beginning of israels massive military response. You said at that point, we do not want to be here in lebanon a Bargaining Chip in a larger geopolitical game. Isnt that precisely what your country has become . Stephen, youve known me for always my honesty and transparency and we reached a point in lebanon where everything is very clear and theres nothing to hide. And saying the truth and sharing the truth, admitting what is at fault, is the best strategy to follow. So, yes, i was very clear in what i said at that point of time, particularly because lebanon is a small state in this region, has been paying a very, very high price for conflicts around lebanon and in the region for at least the past 75 yea
Calamity . Amin salam, in beirut. Welcome to hardtalk. Thank you, thank you, stephen. Always a pleasure. Always a pleasure. Well, its ureat to always a pleasure. Well, its great to have always a pleasure. Well, its great to have you always a pleasure. Well, its great to have you back always a pleasure. Well, its great to have you back on i always a pleasure. Well, itsl great to have you back on the show and if i may, i want to start with some words you said just one week after october 7 thatis, just one week after october 7 that is, after the hamas Attack On Southern Israel and at the very beginning of israels massive military response, you said at that point we do not want to be here in lebanon a Bargaining Chip in a larger geopolitical game. Isnt that precisely what your country has become . , ,. , precisely what your country has become . , ~. , become . Stephen, youve known me for always become . Stephen, youve known me for always my become . Stephen, youve known me for always my
Will set off on the trip of a lifetime across the atlantic and into a new chapter in the history books. How are you feeling about that big trip ahead of you . Very good. So excited. Good luck to her. Sarah farmer with that report. Time for a look at the weather. Heres chris fawkes. Our weather is set to get much hotter with temperatures surging over the next 2a hours, high is expected of 36 celsius across south east england tomorrow. Thats the kind of heat we saw last week, not far off those temperatures in any case. Today, a lot of cloud in the south west, thick enough to bring drizzle and mist, it feels humid as well. In scotland, plenty of sunshine and a fresh feel to the weather. He is the satellite picture which shows how extensive the cloud is across england and wales. Across the south east of england we are starting to see the cloud break up and across the south east we should see some sunshine getting on here and when sunshine comes out ten pictures will rocket up quickly. It w