President Bush has called for the urgent deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force to southern Lebanon to shore up a week-old truce between Israel and Hizbullah guerrillas.
He said there would be another UN resolution on the rules for such a force. "First things first will be to get the rules of engagement clear," he told a news conference in Washington.
Announcing a $230 million aid package to Lebanon that includes 25,000 tons of wheat, Mr Bush called for United Nations forces to "deploy as quickly as possible to keep the peace".
A UN truce that came into effect last Monday halted the 34-day conflict between Israel and Hizbullah, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon, as well as 157 Israelis. However, assembling a UN force to keep the peace is proving difficult.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the situation in Lebanon as "very fragile" and also called for a swift deployment of UN troops to the south.
Italy emerged as the potential leader of such a force following telephone talks between Prime Minister Romano Prodi and his opposite numbers in Beirut and Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, hosting senior UN envoys in Jerusalem, spoke to Mr Prodi late last night and said he would be happy to see the Italians in charge.
France had earlier been expected to lead the force but then dismayed the United Nations by offering only 200 troops to add to those it already has in the existing 2,000-strong UN force in Lebanon, known as Unifil.