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The European Union (EU) governments on Monday decided to blacklist the armed wing of Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah as a terrorist group, a move was slammed by Lebanese officials who urged the union to reconsider its decision.
The decision was reached at the foreign ministers' meeting of the EU in Brussels, according to local media. It will now become illegal for EU countries to fund the group and for European diplomats to meet its military staff. However, the bloc will maintain links with the political wing of the organization, which once dominated the last Lebanese cabinet along with its allies.
U.S. and Israeli officials have been calling on Europe to blacklist the group for years. However, the group's recent involvement in the conflicts in neighboring Syria, in support of President Bashar al-Assad, has finally made some reluctant EU members change their positions.URGING EU TO RECONSIDER ITS DECISION
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on Monday met EU ambassador to Lebanon, Angelina Eichhorst, urging the EU to "reconsider its decision out of its keenness not to take hasty decisions, and to preserve Lebanon's stability."
For his part, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati said that his country regrets the EU decision, but said Beirut will maintain its relations with EU members.
"We will follow up the issue through diplomatic channels," Miqati said, wishing the EU countries "carry out a careful reading of the facts and more information."
Also, Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday urged the EU to retreat its decision against Hezbollah, saying it underestimates justice and serves Israel.
"Such a decision would... cause more tension and instability under the fragile situation in Lebanon," Berri warned.HEZBOLLAH'S STRONG REJECTION
Hezbollah, for its own part, described late Monday EU's decision as a "hostile and unjust" step.
"Hezbollah firmly rejects the EU decision... and sees it as a hostile and unjust decision that has no justification and is based on no proof," the group said in a statement.
It added that the EU's decision was a result of U.S. and Israeli pressure, warning it does not serve the bloc's interests. "This decision was written by American hands and with Zionist ink, " it contended.
