France 15,000 UN troops for Lebanon 'excessive'

PARIS, Aug 25 (Reuters) President Jacques Chirac today vigorously defended initial French reluctance to provide a large contingent for a revamped UN force for Lebanon, and said the deployment of 15,000 peacekeepers there would be excessive.

Chirac said he had swiftly doubled French troops in Lebanon to 400 but would have been attacked as a ''mad dog'' had he authorised higher numbers without first gaining clear assurances about their mission and right to self-defence.

The French leader made his comments after talks with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, largely devoted to the Wasia situation and the Iranian nuclear dossier.

''My feeling is that the figure that was given at the beginning, of 15,000, ... is a figure that is completely excessive,'' Chirac told a joint news conference with Merkel.

''I don't know who mentioned this figure but it doesn't really make sense. So what is the right number, 4,000, 5,000 or 6,000? I don't know.'' U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has voiced optimism he would raise 15,000 troops from Europe and elsewhere for the force to maintain a truce between Israel and Hizbollah.

France led diplomatic efforts to secure an end to the fighting between Israeli troops and Hizbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon, but its reluctance to send a large force disappointed many U.N.

diplomats who had expected Paris to provide the backbone of the mission.

''It would have been totally irresponsible to take a decision putting the lives of French soldiers at risk without having, beforehand, the assurance that their deployment would take place in conditions of security and optimum efficiency,'' Chirac said.

''One can ask how I would have been judged had I gone off like a mad dog before even thinking, or getting a minimum level of guarantees,'' he added.

Chirac also criticised Israel's continued blockade of Lebanon, saying it was ''extremely prejudicial to the economy and life in Lebanon. And, in my view, quite unjustified.'' Merkel agreed the Israeli blockade should be lifted as provided for in U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah fighters.

''We think that the German offer to defend the Lebanese coast could secure one of the conditions for Israel to lift the blockade.

That is the idea and point of Germany's offer,'' she said.

''When the rules for the force are established we will try to put our offer into effect. That could represent a major contribution to the lifting of the blockade.'' Merkel added that Hizbollah-supporter Syria was sending signals which were unhelpful in resolving the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah.

''At the moment we are seeing some very unconstructive signals from Syria,'' Merkel said. But in the long term Syria should be included in any political process to resolve the crisis, she added.

REUTERS KR PC1832