MIDDLE EAST: Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said yesterday that preparations were under way to deploy quickly an initial 4,000 soldiers in southern Lebanon.
"I've been speaking to several countries during the day and night and I think we will be able to guarantee that the force, as far as the Europeans are concerned, will be robust," Mr Solana told reporters in Jerusalem.
Mr Solana, who had talks in Lebanon on Saturday before meeting Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and foreign minister Tzipi Livni, listed Australia, Canada, Malaysia and Indonesia as among the non-EU countries prepared to join the international force. He said that at least 4,000 soldiers would be prepared to move into southern Lebanon "in a very, very short time", but gave no further details.
Malaysia and Indonesia have no diplomatic ties with Israel but Ms Livni said that the Jewish state had no problem with them joining the international force.
"We are not going to say that there are some states that we believe should not be part of these forces," she said.
Israel wants the international force to be strong enough to confront and disarm Hizbullah guerrillas. But Lebanon has objected to any mandate for the peacekeepers which would authorise the use of force.
French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said in an interview with Le Monde that the mission of the new force would not include disarming Hizbullah by force. Ms Livni countered by saying that the "underlying concept" of the UN resolution was disarming Hizbullah.
Mr Solana said he hoped that lessons had been learned from the past month of fighting.
"It's important for the Israelis . . . to make a reflection about the significance of what has happened this month. It is a month that we must do the utmost never to repeat," he said.