EU urges talks with Hezbollah to resolve crisis - by Judy Dempsey
Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja of Finland, speaking for the European Union presidency, called Thursday for direct talks with Hezbollah, which is regarded by the United States and Israel as a terrorist organization responsible for the latest Middle East crisis. "Obviously, if you want an end to the fighting and have any lasting political agreement, Hezbollah has to be a party to it," Tuomioja said in a telephone interview from Cairo.
"Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese Parliament and government." Washington and Israel have repeatedly asked the EU to put Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations and to stop all funding of Hezbollah by sympathetic charities or other groups. But Tuomioja, who has the task of presenting a common European foreign policy on the crisis, said the EU's main priority was to try to obtain a permanent and effective cease-fire. That meant involving all the parties. EU member states and the European Commission have committed €100 million, or $128 million for humanitarian work, since the fighting began 30 days ago.Despite public opinion across Europe that is highly critical of Israel's bombardment of Lebanon, Tuomioja said there was no point in blaming either side.Tuomioja said the EU was respected in the region for its "soft power" approach to the Middle East conflict, in other words using diplomatic, humanitarian and economic means instead of U.S.-style military might.
"Nobody in the region expects the EU to have a hidden agenda," he said. "Our No. 1 concern is peace and stability. If you don't have it in the Middle East, you will not have it in Europe."
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