UN WAsia deal close but could come apart again

United Nations, Aug 11: The United States and France were close to an agreement today on a UN resolution aimed at halting the bloodshed in Lebanon and Israel but objections from combatants could force another delay.

Throughout Thursday, negotiators believed they had achieved a breakthrough. But the deal came apart when Beirut rejected deployment of additional UN troops under Chapter seven of the UN Charter, which allows for the use of force rather than just self-defence.

US Ambassador John Bolton and French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere worked late into the evening to change some wording in their UN Security Council draft that would be sent to Lebanon and Israel for their approval overnight.

Meanwhile, Russia, impatient at the non-stop negotiations, introduced a council resolution calling for a 72-hour truce so humanitarian supplies could reach civilians suffering from the five-week war between Hizbollah militia and Israel.

More than 1,000 Lebanese and 121 Israelis have been killed in the five-week-old war.

''War is raging in Lebanon and the humanitarian situation is getting catastrophic,'' Churkin told reporters.

If the US-French resolution were adopted, he said, he would withdraw his measure.

However, Bolton said of the Russian text, ''I don't think it is helpful to divert attention. We are seeking to get a permanent and sustainable solution with the approach that we and the French have been taking.''

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to be in New York today in anticipation of a vote, as is British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett. Bolton said he had not yet given up ''on the prospect that we might yet vote'' today. But the resolution has not yet been formally introduced to the 15-nation Security Council, prompting some diplomats to predict a Saturday vote because members often send a draft to governments before adoption.

Israeli withdrawal

The text calls for a ''cessation of hostilities,'' but negotiations repeatedly stalled on the question of how and when Israeli troops would withdraw from southern Lebanon.

The Beirut government had rejected an international force not under UN control while Israel, which has delayed plans to deploy more troops in Lebanon, insisted on a strong multinational force before it would withdraw.

The latest compromise proposal calls for a phased withdrawal by Israeli troops as the Lebanese army deploys in the south, controlled by Hizbollah. At the same time the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, would be reinforced by French and other troops, perhaps as many as 15,000.

As part of the deal, Hizbollah would pull out from south of the Litani river, 13 miles (20 km) from the Israeli border.

Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman, who has harshly criticized UNIFIL as ineffectual, told Israel's Channel 1 television that the new UN force ''will be completely different from the blue helmets we know today'' and that ''a number of European countries'' have agreed to be part of the force.

As in earlier drafts the resolution is expected to include an arms embargo on weapons flowing to militia in Lebanon except for the those ordered by the Beirut army and UN forces.

A second resolution is expected to follow within a month setting out terms for a permanent cease-fire, including the release of two Israeli soldiers abducted by Hizbollah in a cross-border raid on July 12 that sparked the conflict.

Reuters

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