US top official called on Syria and Lebanon to exert solid efforts to stop the Islamic resistant movement Hizbollah, reports said on Wednesday.
US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice urged the two countries through an interview with the MBC TV channel to put an end to the Lebanese movement which is considered by US President George W. Bush administration as "terrorist" activities.
“We recognize that Hizbollah has a side which conducts social and political activities, which is a good thing, but this leaves a terrorist branch which is responsible for many problems in the Middle East. And this is what we have told Lebanon and Syria," Rice was quoted by AFP as saying in her interview with the London-based TV channel.
Rice is a top advisor to President Bush and straddles the divide between the US administration's moderates and hardliners.
Rice also said some Hizbollah leaders figure on an FBI list of wanted persons.
Lebanese officials have said that the marathon talks between the Lebanese and American diplomats collided over the dispute of how the two countries view Hizbollah.
A month ago, Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Berri and the US ambassador unveiled a clear dispute in how each country viewed Hizbollah and other Arab groups fighting to liberate their land from Israeli occupation – Albawaba.com
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