ROME, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D' Alema said on Wednesday that the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon will only succeed if backed up by substantial humanitarian aid.

    D'Alema also pointed out that the UN peacekeeping mission, tasked with maintaining a truce between Israel and Hezbollah fighters, was only part of a wider diplomatic effort to broker permanent peace.

    "It is clear that the success of the mission in Lebanon can only be measured on the ground," the minister told the Italian parliament, which must vote to confirm the dispatch of Italian soldiers to the region.

    The multinational force, in which Italy will have the largest contingent, currently numbers around 3,000. Some 1,000 Italian troops joined it last weekend and a further 1,500 are expected to be deployed in coming weeks.

    Italy, which will takeover command of the mission in February, has offered to deploy up to 3,000 soldiers.

    "Success will be guaranteed only if the deployment of the military force is accompanied by solid humanitarian action and by political action aimed at the effective pacification of Lebanon," D 'Alema told MPs.

    "The deployment of the military force is the instrument with which space can be created for a political initiative in Lebanon and the region," he added.

    Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the multinational force will help some 15,000 Lebanese troops enforce a truce in the war between Israel and Hezbollah which came into effect on Aug. 14. Enditem