NEW YORK, United States: New Lebanese premier Najib Mikati has said that a UN Security Council resolution demanding disbanding and disarmament of Lebanese militias does not apply to the Iran-, Syria-backed Hezbollah that is headed by Hasan Nasrullah.

Hezbollah is considered a political party by Lebanon, and a terrorist group by the United States.

Talking to reporters on Friday after meeting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Mikati told the disarming of Hezbollah "would have to be in the context of a Lebanese framework".

"They will. I said it," Mikati said when asked if the group would be disarmed.

"But in our terminology, Hezbollah is not a militia. It is a resistance group, and we believe that there is a difference between a resistance and a militia," Mikati said.

When asked whether Resolution 1559 also requires Hezbollah to disarm, the prime minister replied, "to a certain extent."

Annan, in a written statement released Friday, repeated his call for implementation of the resolution.