Brussels, 27/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - Even though no agreement on a call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon (see EUROPE 9240) was reached at Wednesday's international conference on Lebanon in Rome, the Commission said it was satisfied with what had been achieved, and particularly with the unanimous support for the opening of corridors to ensure rapid humanitarian aid to civilian victims. In its final declaration, the Rome conference welcomed the announcement by the Israeli government that it would accept the creation of such corridors and also humanitarian flights into Beirut airport. “We see as a positive aspect too that fact that the parties agreed on the principle of a ceasefire” although it was not possible to find a common position on the timing of such a ceasefire, a Commission spokesman told press on Thursday. The conference's unanimous backing for the deployment of an international force in Lebanon was also a positive development, he added. The prospects of a ceasefire and a multinational force in Lebanon are at the heart of the talks EU Council President Erkki Tuomioja and Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner are holding in Beirut, Israel and Gaza on Thursday and Friday, he said. The two European leaders will give a report on their visit to EU foreign ministers at the extraordinary Council meeting called for 1st August.
Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac has reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire as a condition for sending an international force into Lebanon. This force, he said, should not be a NATO force. “The multinational force implies imperative conditions. The first is the acceptance of a ceasefire by all the protagonists. The second is the acceptance of the very principle of a multinational force by the various parties. And the third is that this international force comes under UN Chapter VII,” he said in an interview with Le Monde on 27 July. France will not accept a NATO-led force, because “for technical reasons, and also for political reasons, NATO is not made for this kind of role,” Mr Chirac said. “NATO is seen, whether it likes it or not, as the West's armed branch in these regions and, consequently, in terms of image, NATO is not made for such things.” However, the multinational force would have to be made up of “willing nations”. Would France be willing to lead such a force? “France has always accepted her responsibilities in Lebanon. Our decision will depend on a number of conditions. We want a ceasefire, a political commitment and an international force to apply this policy under strictly defined conditions. Then, we would see,” Mr Chirac answered. Disarming Hezbollah was a task which, in any event, would fall to the Lebanese government (of which Hezbollah is currently part), something which would require a political agreement between the two, said Mr Chirac.
On Wednesday, Germany also declared itself against the (mainly American) idea of using the NATO Response Force as a stabilisation force in Lebanon.