The US called the move a significant step in helping combat threats to global security and Europe
The eastern European nation of Serbia said on Sunday that it is designating Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
The US State Department immediately hailed the decision, calling it a “significant step” in helping combat threats to global security and the European continent.
Belgrade’s decision “is another significant step limiting this Iranian backed terrorist group’s ability to operate in Europe,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
“This important action was announced as part of the historic commitments President Trump secured on a wide range of economic normalization issues between Serbia and Kosovo, coupled with the steps both nations are taking to help achieve peace in the Middle East,” the statement added.
Both the US and European Union, which Serbia is not a party to, have for years designated Hezbollah’s military-wing a terrorist organization.
But a number of European countries have hesitated in labeling its political apparatus with the same designation, which has significant representation and influence in Lebanon’s parliament.
“There is no doubt that the dominoes are falling on Hezbollah’s European operations, where it has continued to plot terrorist attacks, procure military technology, and raise much-needed funding,” the state department statement continues.
“The United States continues to call on the European Union and European nations to designate or ban Hezbollah in its entirety and recognize the reality that it is a terrorist organization root and branch with no distinction between its so-called ‘military’ and ‘political’ wings. We urge all countries in Europe and elsewhere to take whatever action they can to prevent Hezbollah operatives, recruiters, and financiers from operating on their territories.”
Serbia’s action comes just days after it announced it that it plans on moving its embassy to Jerusalem during a White House event where it agreed to sign separate agreements with Washington regarding the normalization of economic relations between itself and Balkan rival Kosovo.
