BEIJING, Aug. 25 -- French president Jacques
Chirac has announced that his country will send a total of two-thousand troops
to join the UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile
EU foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Friday to discuss their
shares of troops in the UN forces.
In a nationally televised address on Thursday, Chirac
said the United Nations had provided security and efficiency guarantees enabling
France to increase its shares of troops. He clarified that the two thousand
soldiers include the 400 military personnel already present on the ground.
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In a nationally televised address on
Thursday, Chirac said the United Nations had provided security and
efficiency guarantees enabling France to increase its shares of
troops.(Photo: CCTV)
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"France is ready, should the UN want it, to carry on
and assume the commandment of the UN force. We will evaluate this disposal
within six months, examining the evolution of the situation."
Along with the United States, France helped draft the
UN Security Council resolution that allowed for an expansion of the UN
peacekeeping force from the current two-thousand troops to up to 15-thousand.
France's commitment of troops has been closely
watched by other countries. So far, the international community has been slow to
come together in contributing troops for the UN force.
European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to
discuss the issue in Brussels on Friday. They hope the meeting will enable the
dispatch of at least a vanguard of the expanded force no later than next week.
Ahead of the Brussels meeting, Belgian Foreign
Minister Karel De Gucht met his Lebanese counterpart on Thursday in Beirut. They
discussed the possibility of contributing Belgian troops to the UN force.
"It is very important to discuss with you the rules
of engagement, the relationship between the Lebanese army and the enhanced
UNIFIL, the relationship also between the disarmament of all factions and the
measures to be taken so that re-armament cannot take place."
Also on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni met Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi in Rome. She thanked Italy for
taking the lead in contributing to the UN peacekeeping forces. Both countries
urged the international community to act as quickly as possible to help fulfill
the UN troops deployment goal.
(Source: CCTV.com)
