More French troops for Lebanon important: Bush

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine. Aug 25 (Reuters) President George W Bush has said the French decision to provide more troops for the UN force in Lebanon was important to finalising the international deployment.

''I welcome President (Jacques) Chirac's decision to send a total of 2,000 troops to Lebanon and to continue to exercise leadership on the ground in enforcing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,'' Bush said in a statement.

''This is an important step toward finalizing preparations to deploy the United Nations Interim Force of Lebanon,'' he said.

France initially offered only an additional 200 troops for Lebanon, disappointing countries that had expected a much bigger contribution.

REUTERS VJ BST0412