Lebanon talks call for urgent, lasting ceasefire

ROME, July 26 (Reuters) Lebanon crisis talks today ended with no firm plan to stop the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas, disappointing Arab and UN hopes for an immediate ceasefire.

Foreign ministers from the United States, West Asia and Europe agreed in Rome on the need for an international military force with a UN mandate to secure the border between Lebanon and Israel where fighting has killed hundreds of people.

They vowed to work ''immediately to reach with the utmost urgency a ceasefire that puts an end to the current violence and hostilities'', according a statement issued by co-hosts Italy and the United States that was agreed by participants.

''The ceasefire must be lasting, permanent and sustainable,'' read the statement, which mentioned Israel by name but not Hizbollah, referring instead to ''disarming all militias''.

However, the diplomats took no concrete steps to halt the fighting, and without the participation of key nations including Israel, divisions persisted over how best to bring peace.

Arab leaders, Italy and the United Nations had hoped the conference would call for an immediate ceasefire without preconditions between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas. Diplomats said there was prolonged debate on use of the word ''immediate''.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had insisted no durable truce could be sought until conditions were right.

''We have to have a plan that will actually create conditions in which we can have a ceasefire that will be sustainable,'' Rice told a closing news conference.

A US State Department official travelling with Rice said she was very satisfied with the outcome which showed ''strong international consensus'', while making sure that any peace deal reached ''does not fail as so many others have failed before''.

The official disagreed with some diplomats' comments that Washington was isolated in the meeting. ''Whether we call it (ceasefire) immediate or urgent is semantics. We walked out of that room with the same sense of urgency (as the others).'' The US official said it was unrealistic to think a meeting in Rome could result in an immediate cessation of violence.

''What will make the guns go silent is addressing the cause of the violence,'' said the US official.

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