Europe Rushing Deployment Of Peacekeepers To Lebanon
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent Helsinki, Finland (AHN) - The European Union is rushing efforts to secure the required 15,000 troops to form an expanded peacekeeping force in Lebanon as Israel on Thursday warned time is running out for the deployment of the international peacekeeping force. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the EU presidency, is scheduled to visit Paris and Berlin, while Israel's foreign minister will arrive in Italy as diplomatic efforts are being stepped up. United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has criticized European countries for their reluctance to contribute to the peacekeeping force to be deployed in southern Lebanon which is part of the package under the U.N. Security Council sponsored truce in Middle East. Annan is expected to arrive in Europe on Friday to meet with leaders in the region. Tuomioja said his Syrian counterpart had told him they would "close their borders for all traffic in the event that U.N. troops are deployed near its borders". He will discuss the EU's contribution to the U.N. force of 15,000 in talks with his opposite numbers in both Germany and Paris. He expects to make some progress on Friday, but "in total we would hope that of the 15,000 almost a half would come from EU member states."
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