Visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Wednesday he hoped 2009 would see a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement given changes in the US and Israeli administrations and elections in the region.

`I think 2009 is going to be a very important year,` Miliband told reporters after meeting with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman.

`It is the year of change globally because there is a new American president, there will be a new Israeli government, there will be elections in Lebanon and .... in Iran as well.`

Miliband said he had discussed with Sleiman legislative elections planned in Lebanon next spring and the importance of stability in the country.

`The world will be watching to see all parties respect the democratic process and ensure that politics and not violence are the basis for the decisions about Lebanon`s future,` he said.

`So often in history Lebanon has been the victim of other people`s conflicts and we will know that there is a true prospect of lasting peace in the Middle East when Lebanon is no longer the victim of other people`s conflicts,` he added.

Miliband arrived in Beirut on Tuesday following a stop in Damascus where he held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He was due to leave Lebanon later in the afternoon.

Earlier in his tour of the region, he also travelled to Israel and the West Bank, holding meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.