It was far too early to declare Hizbollah a terrorist organisation, the Foreign Minister said yesterday, in the wake of a Bulgarian report implicating the group in a deadly bus bombing last summer.

The Government of Malta remains resolute in its condemnation of terrorism in all forms and the loss of innocent civilian lives

A Bulgarian investigation concluded on Tuesday that the Lebanese Shi’ite militia was behind the attack in the Black Sea resort of Burgas that killed five Israelis, the driver and the bomber last July.

The bus was carrying Israeli tourists from the airport to their hotels.

The EU has come under pressure from Israel and the US to add Hizbollah to its list of terrorist organisations in light of the report.

Foreign Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said yesterday: “Malta will evaluate the situation further with our European partners and make the appropriate decision at the right time.” In an official statement, the Foreign Ministry condemned “the terrorist attack in a European Union member state in the most categorical terms”.

It called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and reiterated its solidarity with the victims of the attacks.

“The Government of Malta remains resolute in its condemnation of terrorism in all forms and the loss of innocent civilian lives,” the statement said.

Later yesterday, an EU Foreign Affairs spokesman said Brussels would look into “several options” for dealing with Hizbollah, including listing the group as a terrorist organisation. The US and The Netherlands already officially deem the group to be terrorists.

Iran-backed Hizbollah forms part of the Lebanese Government. It commands fierce support among sections of the population in the North African state and elsewhere in the Arab world.