"I am very happy that 28 EU member-states decided on July 22 to list Hizbollah group as a terrorist organization," the Israeli leader told Lietuvos Rytas daily on the eve of his visit.
Asked to specify why the EU statements on Jewish settlers in Palestian territories came during the US diplomatic attempts to resume negotiations between Arabs and Jews, Peres said he thinks the EU made a mistake by probably thinking that the peace talks will not be resumed.
"So this happened on the same day when they were resumed. I do not think it was planned, it is merely a coincidence. I attempted to discuss this with the head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso but it was too late. I saw him aboard an airplane headed for Athens, however, the flight attendant did not let us talk – the airplane was taking off," the Israeli leader added.
Speaking about the perspective of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, he said they would first have to assure the people of Israel that peace will not come itself and may involve a very high price: "Of course, we will also have to discuss ways of avoiding paying too much."
"Jews will have to hold negotiations with themselves and others. They will have to cross thresholds of mistrust, suspicions and criticism," said the Israeli president.
During the visit in Lithuania, Peres said he expects to reach agreements with Lithuanian leaders on the need to build a friendly future together.
"I do not think we will escape questions about the past but what is the most important now is to say that we can be big and democratic, although Israel and Lithuania are small in terms of territories and population. To us, Jews, Vilnius is more than a geographical point on the plant. It is a page in our history. Vilnius was referred to as the Jerusalem of the North, therefore, I really want to see how it has changed," Peres said.
His agenda for Wednesday includes a meeting with Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaitė and a visit to the parliament.
On Thursday, both presidents will go to Paneriai to pay tribute to victims of the Holocaust.
