EU chief holds first ever meeting with Hezbollah

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana held unprecedented talks with a Hezbollah official Saturday during a Beirut visit to reaffirm Europe's support for Lebanon after last week's polls.

He met in parliament with MP Hussein Hajj Hassan, whose Shiite movement is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and which was defeated in the June 7 general election.

"Lists of terrorist groups are not the same in every country," Solana told a news conference when asked about the U.S. blacklist of the Shiite group.

"Hezbollah is a member of the Lebanese society and it is represented in the Lebanese parliament and it will bear responsibilities," he said before leaving for Egypt at the end of a two-day visit.

For his part Hajj Hassan told AFP that the meeting "means more EU overture towards Hezbollah, and one at a higher level."

"This also means better communication for the European Union with the region and its parties," he said after the talks, adding that the move will "move the EU towards more realism."

Hajj Hassan is among 11 Hezbollah candidates who won seats in the 128-seat parliament.

Solana said Lebanon's rival political leaders "realize the responsibility they face" and he expected them to "find a way to push the country forward and form a cabinet" as soon as possible.

Hezbollah is a member of the Lebanese society and it is represented in the Lebanese parliament and it will bear responsibilities

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana

Hezbollah’s veto demand

Hezbollah and its allies in the opposition refused to join a new government unless they have veto power over its decisions, a leading Christian member of their alliance said on Saturday.

Suleiman Franjieh said that without veto power it would be better to stay in opposition than to join the new government, which is almost certain to be led by the rival March 14 coalition that won a parliamentary election on Sunday.

"Let them rule and take the whole government, but without us as bystanders in it," Franjieh told Reuters.

"We will not hold things up, but we will refuse to join the government," added Franjieh, whose Marada movement won three of parliament's 128 seats in the election.

The Hezbollah-led opposition wants to have veto power on key issues as they did in the outgoing cabinet, but majority leaders are opposed to this.

Reaction to Lebanon vote

Solana, who also met with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, officials and party leaders, earlier said that the EU "is pleased with the 2009 parliamentary election results."

"They reflected the maturity of the country," he said. Lebanon was at risk of civil war last year after political differences between the rival camps boiled over.

"This (election) will help very much open a new page for the future of the country, prosperity, democracy and peace," Solana added.

"The EU will continue to support Lebanon, and the EU will continue its efforts, in regard to pursuing peace in the Middle East, in cooperation with the international community and the United States," he announced.

Solana's trip coincided with a visit by U.S. envoy George Mitchell who vowed on Friday that Washington would not sacrifice Lebanon as it seeks comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

Before Mitchell headed on to Syria, the two diplomats met briefly to discuss cooperation between the EU and the United States, whose President Barack Obama has vowed to help kick-start stalled Arab-Israeli peace negotiations.

The European Union does not blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and Britain said earlier this year it plans to authorize low-level contact with the group.

Let them rule and take the whole government, but without us as bystanders in it

Suleiman Franjieh, a leading Christian member of the Hezbollah-led opposition