Germany postpones West Asia deployment decision

Berlin, Sep 3 (Reuters) Germany said today it had cancelled a planned special cabinet meeting due tomorrow at which the government was expected to give the go-ahead to send troops to join the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. Government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told reporters Germany had yet to receive a formal request from Lebanon for it to deploy troops.

''Lebanese Prime Minister (Fouad) Siniora has informed the chancellor that due to discussions within Lebanon he could not send the necessary request to the UN,'' Wilhelm said.

''It is clear that without such a request from Lebanon to the United Nations a deployment by the federal armed forces is not possible.'' The German government has said it is prepared to patrol the Lebanese coast to prevent arms being delivered to Hizbollah guerrillas but has ruled out sending ground troops.

It has also said it is considering providing support for Lebanese police and border guards.

''The government will only deploy German soldiers under orderly conditions and with Lebanon's clear readiness,'' Wilhelm said.

Last month's UN Security Council resolution that led to a truce which ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah called for 15,000 UN troops to join a similar number of Lebanese army troops deploying in the south of the country.

Italy is the biggest contributor so far. It plans to send 3,000 troops to the region while France will send 2,000.

Media reported on Friday that Germany was considering sending up to 2,000 troops, mainly navy personnel.

Reuters LL RS1712