LONDON (AA) - British Foreign Secretary William Hague stated their satisfaction over the European Union's decision to put Hezbollah's Lebanon-based military wing on the EU's list of terrorist organizations.
Hague made a statement in regards to the topic in which he said, "In reaching this agreement, the EU has sent a clear message that it stands united against terrorism. It shows that no organisation can carry out terrorist acts on European soil, such as the appalling attack in Bulgaria one year ago, without facing the consequences. European nations have rightly come together in response."
He touched onto the relations with Lebanon and said, "Designation will do nothing to affect the EU’s and the UK’s strong relationship with, and support for, Lebanon. As we have shown by our recent large increases in security and humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, the UK remains deeply committed to Lebanon’s stability."
European Union governments decided on Monday to include Lebanese militant group Hezbollah's armed branch in the list of terrorist organizations, in a move that is feared to fuel tensions in Lebanon and the Middle East region at large.
Hezbollah is suspected of being involved in a bomb attack in Bulgaria last year that killed five Israeli tourists, which prompted Bulgaria to act earlier than the whole of EU to put the entire organization into its own blacklist.
The Lebanese government on Friday had called on the EU not to go ahead with the move, calling Hezbollah's armed branch an "essential part of the Lebanese society."
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