EU countries wait for UN talks before making troops pledge

EU countries will wait for the outcome of UN talks tomorrow before announcing what contributions they might make to a planned international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, an EU diplomat said today.

EU diplomats and security experts, meeting in Brussels, agreed that “speed was the essence” in implementing a UN resolution calling for the 28-year-old Unifil peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon to be expanded to 15,000 troops, the official said.