BKIRKI, Lebanon: A Hezbollah delegation expressed fear after meeting Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai Monday that unrest in Syria could spill into Lebanon and warned that Beirut could not afford any jolts to its security.

“The regional situation, to which we are part of, is very harsh and complicated,” said Sheikh Mohammad Amr, head of the Hezbollah delegation, after the meeting in Bkirki, the seat of the influential Catholic Maronite Church.

“We fear the conflict will spread to Lebanon. But with your wisdom and the wisdom of the leaders of Lebanon ... we hope that they [political leaders] will stay away from interfering in others’ affairs because Lebanon cannot afford any political, military or security shake-ups,” Amr added.

He described Lebanon’s situation as “delicate.”

“Lebanon carries a message. This message must be expressed through dialogue and logic and not by any other means,” the Hezbollah sheikh said.

Hezbollah said it hoped Rai would continue to reach out to all Lebanese.

“We are part of this loving nation with its diversity because this is the message of Lebanon and we are a key component of this beloved and blessed nation,” Amr added.

Rai, for his part, criticized the West for separating God from the state, stressing that Lebanon, a country of coexistence, detaches the state from religion, but not the state from God.

"The West is a civil state that not only separates the state from religion, but the state from God. For that reason we see it [West] plunging into crises as if God does not exist,” Rai said.

“We are able to live in diversity and build a civil state and this is our message to the East and West,” he added.

Rai also called on Lebanese officials to sit at the dialogue table where they could express their concerns.