Special report: Israel-Lebanon
Conflicts [Video ] [Gallery]
Israel, Lebanon agree on
ceasefire
ROME, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister
Romano Prodi said on Wednesday that Egypt is unlikely to join an expanded United
Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon but remains a key player in the Middle
East.
Speaking to reporters at his holiday home on the
Tuscan coast, Prodi said he had discussed the situation at length with Foreign
Minister Massimo D'Alema, who met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on
Tuesday.
"I don't believe Egypt will be sending any
peacekeeping troops but it continues to be a key actor in the area," local media
quoted Prodi as saying.
"Nevertheless, it has given and will continue to give
a great deal of important support to Italy and the mission, which it (Egypt) is
very much in favor of," he added.
Egypt had initially indicated it might play a part in
the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), but Prodi said D'Alema's talks with
Mubarak suggested this was no longer the case.
Prodi also said that he was unable to confirm the
size of Italy's contribution to UNIFIL, as it would depend on the mission's
other participants.
"Our contribution will be decided in accordance with
the number of countries, the overall size and how much each nation can give," he
said.
"The general nature of the Italian mission is agreed
upon but, we clearly have to wait for the technical details to be worked out
before we can reach any decisions on specific aspects," he added.
Italy has informally offered to contribute around
3,000 soldiers to UNIFIL, which will help the Lebanese army oversee an
Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire in the area that took effect at 0500 GMT on Monday.
Under a resolution adopted last Friday, the UN
Security Council calls on Israel to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon and
authorizes an increase of the existing UNIFIL to 15,000 troops to help Lebanese
troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.
Currently, there are only 2,000 UNIFIL troops in the
area. Enditem
