U.N. chief says Europe will provide half of peacekeeping force in Lebanon

BRUSSELS, Belgium — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Europe had agreed to provide the "backbone" of a peacekeeping force for Lebanon, providing nearly half of a 15,000-member contingent.

European officials said it would take up to three months to get all the troops on the ground.

Speaking after an emergency meeting of European foreign ministers, Annan also said has "firm commitments" from Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and was consulting with Turkey about joining the peacekeeping force. Israel has expressed concern, however, about contingents from Muslim countries with which it does not have relations.

"Europe is providing the backbone of the force," Annan said. "We can now begin to put together a credible force."

By pledging 6,900 troops, European countries overcame initial concern about being caught in the middle between Hezbollah and Israel. France, in particular, had held back from promising a large contribution and demanded a clearer definition of the mission and the rules of engagement.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Annan gave guarantees for the safety of European troops and on rules of engagement, and that France wanted an arms-free "exclusion zone" in south Lebanon.

"We think the best solution for disarming Hezbollah is to make an exclusion zone with the retreat of the Israeli army on one side and the deployment of the Lebanese army on the other, reinforced by the U.N. troops," he said.

"Our objective is clear, to disarm Hezbollah," Douste-Blazy said, but added that military force was not the answer. "The only solution is to have a political solution."

He said he hoped all five permanent U.N. Security Council members — the United States, China, Britain and Russia, in addition to France — will send troops to participate in the force.

"The Europeans should not be the only ones. We hope particularly that the permanent members of the Security Council will participate, as well as Muslim countries," he said.

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said the entire U.N. force should be in place within two to three months. Annan said he hoped the force would be able to start deploying in "days, not weeks."

The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, called on Israel to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon. Ending the blockade has been linked to forming a U.N. force.