Special report: Israel-Lebanon Conflicts   [Video] [Gallery]
Special report: Israel, Lebanon agree on ceasefire

Spain's King Juan Carlos talks with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan during a meeting at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    MADRID, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Visiting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday thanked all the nations that had worked to help lift Israel's embargo on its neighbor Lebanon.

    The lifting of the embargo, due on Thursday, will allow the situation in the hotspot area to return to normal and reconstruction in Lebanon to begin, Annan told a press conference just before a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

    Annan, who arrived in Madrid on Wednesday from Ankara, the capital of Turkey, has visited 13 nations in 11 days to analyze the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel and prepare for the deployment of multi-national troops in Lebanon.

    He said that Spain had provided special support, including the aircraft in which he had toured the region. Without Spain's help, "this trip would have been impossible," said the UN chief.

    He called for the stabilization of the Israel-Lebanon situation in order to achieve peace in the Middle East region.

    At the press conference, Moratinos praised Annan's handling of the crisis, saying he had "brought back hopes of peace."

    Annan is scheduled to meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to discuss sending troops to Lebanon and the negotiations with Iran over its uranium enrichment program.

    Annan will also meet Spain's King Juan Carlos. Enditem