![Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (R) shakes hands with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell in Beirut on January 19, 2009 (AFP)](http://www.aawsat.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/O678019581.jpg)
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri (R) shakes hands with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell in Beirut on January 19, 2009 (AFP)
BEIRUT (AP) – U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell says Lebanon is key to regional peace. He was in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday at the start of a regional tour aimed at restarting Middle East peace talks.
Mitchell’s visit is part of a U.S. effort to forge a wider peace that would end Israel’s conflicts with the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon and normalize Israel’s ties with the rest of the Arab world.
In a statement, Mitchell said Lebanon would play a key role in the effort to build a lasting and comprehensive peace and stability in the Middle East.
![U.S Middle East envoy George Mitchell, left, shakes hands withLebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami, at the Lebanese foreign ministry, in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 19, 2010 (AP)](http://www.aawsat.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/O678119581.jpg)
U.S Middle East envoy George Mitchell, left, shakes hands withLebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami, at the Lebanese foreign ministry, in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 19, 2010 (AP)
![U.S Middle East envoy George Mitchell, left, covered from the rain by his bodyguard, right, at the entrance of the Lebanese foreign ministry, in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 19, 2010 (AP)](http://www.aawsat.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/O678219581.jpg)
U.S Middle East envoy George Mitchell, left, covered from the rain by his bodyguard, right, at the entrance of the Lebanese foreign ministry, in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 19, 2010 (AP)