Annan holds meetings with P-5 members on Lebanon

United Nations, Aug 2: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has met with the five permanent members of the Security Council in informal talks focused on the crisis in West Asia and how best to stop the bloodshed in a conflict that has killed nearly a thousand people and forced almost a million others to flee their homes across the region.

Mr Annan discussed yesterday with the ambassadors from China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States the cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire and political framework for a settlement, as well as the composition and deployment of a stabilization force for Lebanon and the humanitarian situation, a UN spokesman told reporters.

''The Secretary-General was satisfied with the outcome of this breakfast meeting and his discussions with the P-5 (Permanent Five) which permitted a clarification of the critical issues on the table and a discussion of the timelines,'' said Ahmad Fawzi, the spokesman.

Mr Fawzi said the participants had discussed various concepts relating to a new force for Lebanon, recalling that the Secretary-General had strongly urged them to agree on a common position. ''He pleaded with the Council on Sunday to set their differences aside to stop the killing.'' Also on the subject of a possible international force, Mr. Fawzi said that a meeting will take place tomorrow to discuss which countries could potentially contribute troops for such a mission.

The meeting, originally intended for Monday, is being organized by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and will be led by UN Undersecretary-General Jean Marie Guehenno.

Tomorrow's meeting is intended to pave way for a force while governments could decide what option they preferred, Mr Fawzi said, distinguishing between UN peacekeepers, as opposed to a ''coalition of the willing'' under the leadership of a specific state with a mandate from the Security Council.

Mr. Annan ''is urging member states to resolve their own differences and that's why he's called for this technical meeting so that we can lay down the groundwork for a force and give time to politicians to decide what the mandate will be,'' the spokesman said.

Responding to questions, Mr Fawzi reiterated the Secretary-General's urgent appeal for a cessation of hostilities.

''There can only be a political solution to this crisis,'' he stressed. The parties, he added, must ''stop killing each other and get to the negotiating table.'' Given the fact that military action will not resolve the conflict, the spokesman said, ''We have appealed to the parties to stop pulling the trigger and to start talking about a longer-term, more comprehensive solution.''

On Monday, the 15-member Council extended for one month the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) while proposals for a new international presence are considered. Mr Annan said in his most recent report that the upsurge in violence had ''radically changed the context'' in which UNIFIL operates and recommended that its mandate be renewed only for another month while all possible options for southern Lebanon are worked out.

UNI

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