EU talks with Hezbollah ‘on horizon’

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 17/03/05

The EU is making the first tentative steps to bring Lebanon's 'Party of God' into the political mainstream, a move seen as critical for the country's security, one month after the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.

According to diplomats, preparatory work is underway for talks with Hezbollah, aimed at stabilising Lebanon after the expected withdrawal of Syrian troops.

"That is our objective," said one diplomat familiar with the issue, "we have not made an approach yet, because it is premature. It is on the political horizon".

If successful, the talks would provide a significant boost to the EU's profile in the Middle East.

Last week Hezbollah issued a strong reminder of their influence in Lebanese politics with its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, assembling a crowd of 500,000 for an ostensibly pro-Syria rally.

Following this show of strength, diplomatic sources say some member states such as France have begun to pave the way for talks, and have informal contacts with the group.

"We all have our embassies there and they are doing their jobs, they are observing and have contacts with the different parties," said one diplomat.

Although widely acknowledged as having substantial terrorist links, the group is seen as holding the key to Lebanon's political transition.

Lebanese opposition leaders who visited Brussels last week urged foreign policy chief Javier Solana not to try and disarm the group too quickly - as called for in UN Security Council resolution 1559.

Although Hezbollah is not officially a terrorist organisation, the EU and member states are likely to face criticism for negotiating with a group that is thought to include around 20,000 armed Shiite militia.

Israel has repeatedly pressed the EU to place the organisation on its list of terrorist organisations and the European Parliament recently voted 473 to 33 in favour of a resolution declaring the group a terrorist organisation, although calls to place the group on the EU's terror list were voted down.

Member states' persistent refusal to sanction Hezbollah could provide the necessary political leverage to start talks. "From a formal point of view, we are not forbidden from talking to them," said one diplomat.

Meanwhile the EU continues to press Syria for a complete withdrawal from Lebanon, using an EU-Syria agreement initiated in October, but not yet signed, as leverage.

With the Syrian economy in dire straits, the EU is withholding lucrative economic and trade opportunities.

Although some cite technical work on translations of a text as the reason for delay, diplomats say compliance with UN resolution 1559 and Syria's role in the Lebanese elections are the real issues, and the agreement will be deeply frozen until they are addressed.

The EU was making the first tentative steps to bring Lebanon's 'Party of God' into the political mainstream, a move seen as critical for the country's security, one month after the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri on 14 February 2005. According to diplomats, preparatory work was underway for talks with Hezbollah, aimed at stabilising Lebanon after the expected withdrawal of Syrian troops. Although widely acknowledged as having substantial terrorist links, Hezbollah was widely seen as holding the key to Lebanon's political transition.

• Primary Source

European Commission: DG External Relations: Countries: Syria http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/syria/intro/index.htm

EEAS: Countries: Lebanon http://eeas.europa.eu/lebanon/index_en.htm

EEAS: Regions: The EU and the Mediterranean, Middle-East & the Gulf http://www.eeas.europa.eu/mideast/index_en.htm

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