Greek minister to visit Wasia this week

ATHENS, Aug 21 (Reuters) Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni will visit the Wasia later this week to support the ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, a ministry spokesman said today.

Greece assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council for September and Foreign Ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos said that, during a three-day trip starting on Wednesday, Bakoyanni would meet leaders of Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan but would skip Syria.

She will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan.

''The first priority is to respect the truce in Lebanon,'' Koumoutsakos told reporters.

''The trip aims to contribute towards a stable truce and to support all those who want the full implementation of the UN decision for the truce, to encourage them to implement it fully.'' A UN-brokered a truce came into effect a week ago ending a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in which 1,200 people in Lebanon and 157 Israelis were killed.

Asked why she would not visit Syria, a key Hizbollah ally, Koumoutsakos said the time was not right.

''At this moment the weight should fall on those who are directly involved with the UN decision. It has been judged that the time is not ripe for such a visit,'' he said.

He said Greece, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, was ready to contribute to a beefed-up UN force in southern Lebanon as set out in the ceasefire resolution.

''The Greek government is orientating itself towards a contribution that will consist of one frigate, one helicopter, a group of specialised frogmen and a specific number of personnel that will contribute to the headquarters of this force,'' he said.

REUTERS SP KN1800