France asks for EU meeting on Lebanon

PARIS, Aug 20 (Reuters) France has asked European Union president Finland to call a meeting of the bloc's member states on Lebanon, the Foreign Minister said today.

''We ask that European solidarity is expressed as soon as possible about Lebanon,'' Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told France Info radio, adding that was why he had asked the Finnish foreign minister to call a meeting in Brussels.

Douste-Blazy said the discussions should focus on political, military, and humanitarian aspects.

The move comes a day after President Jacques Chirac spoke with leaders from several countries, including Italy's Romano Prodi and Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, to stress the need for a clearer mandate for the UN force (UNIFIL).

A Finnish official said France had asked yesterday for a special meeting of the EU's Political and Security Committee for Wednesday.

''The meeting is to discuss what the countries are going to do in Lebanon. Even though it's not an EU mission, it's to coordinate what different EU countries are going to do,'' said Susanna Parkkonen, spokeswoman for Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

She said the attendees would be diplomats and possibly military specialists from the 25 member states. No foreign ministers are expected to attend.

Reuters MQA GC1745