US: US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has promised to "push very hard" for a ceasefire in Lebanon by the end of this week, but warned that a lot of work remained to be done at the United Nations Security Council.
Speaking on her way back to Washington from the Middle East, Dr Rice said a UN resolution would allow the world powers to move beyond a dispute over the timing of a ceasefire.
"It's time - everybody has said urgent, some people have said immediate. I would hope we are now going to do the work to put in place the conditions for a ceasefire . . . My hope is we will have it during this week," she said.
Dr Rice said there was "an emerging consensus" on what was necessary for both "an urgent ceasefire and a lasting settlement" of the conflict.
The US plan would include a ceasefire, a set of political principles to provide for a long-term settlement and the authorisation of an international force to help the Lebanese army keep the peace.
Dr Rice said that in talks with Israel and Lebanon, she had found consensus on a number of key issues, including the need for Lebanon to be able to expand its authority over the whole of the country and an arms embargo on weapons for anyone other than the Lebanese forces or the international force.
"No foreign forces will be allowed unless specifically authorised by the government of Lebanon, and Lebanon should, assisted as appropriate by the international community, disarm armed groups," she said.
President George W Bush yesterday played down the shift in US policy, reaffirming his commitment to a ceasefire that addresses the "root causes" of the conflict. Addressing Cuban-American business leaders in Miami, Mr Bush characterised the conflict in Lebanon as part of a broader struggle to promote democracy in the Middle East.
"This task is long - it is difficult work, but it is necessary work. When democracy spreads in the Middle East, the people of that troubled region will have a better future. The terrorists will lose their safe havens and their recruits, and the United States of America will be more secure. The hard work of helping people realise the benefits of liberty is laying the foundation of peace for generations to come," he said.
At the United Nations, a meeting of potential contributors to an international force for Lebanon was postponed pending the outcome of this week's talks on a security council resolution.
"Like any force that comes after a conflict, that force will be there to implement whatever has been agreed among the actors. You cannot discuss the mandate in isolation of the political process, which in a way underpins the mandate," said the UN under-secretary general for peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehénno.
The security council yesterday extended for one month the mandate of the Unifil monitoring force in southern Lebanon.