Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
צילום: איי פי
Nations offer to send troops to Mideast
France, New Zealand, Italy say they are ready to send peacekeeping troops to help Lebanon regain control of its south, as governments around the world welcome UN resolution calling for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hizbullah; Turkey also says it is inclined to send peacekeepers
France, New Zealand and Italy said Saturday they are ready to send peacekeeping troops to help Lebanon regain control of its south, as governments around the world welcomed a UN resolution calling for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hizbullah.
France, which already has some troops in southern Lebanon, will "play a role in putting the new resolution into place, particularly in regards to the new" expanded UN force, said President Jacques Chirac .
China, Russia, Germany, Japan and Australia all praised the resolution, but a majority of Australians said they would not support sending forces to the region, where a month of fighting has left more than 800 people dead, destroyed large amounts of infrastructure, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said her country is "ready to consider what role we might play in an expanded U.N. presence in southern Lebanon."
Turkey also said it was inclined to send peacekeepers.
Sydney: Demonstrators call for an immediate IDF withdrawal
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer welcomed the resolution, but said it would not mean an end to the crisis in the Middle East. "This will not occur until the underlying causes of the conflict are resolved," Downer said.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Australia‘s largest city, Sydney, on Saturday calling for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.
"China hopes concerned sides will implement the Security Council resolution in a tangible manner, resume peace and stability in the Middle East region at an early date," the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
"One of the urgent tasks in that context is the normalization of (the) situation on the Palestinian territories and the resumption of dialogue between the Palestinian National Authority and Israel," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry said Japan will also contribute to restoring peace and stability in the region, but did not give details.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the resolution and urged Israel and Lebanon to implement it "without delay," but he did not say if Germany would contribute troops.
