Annan calls for release of Israeli soldiers

UN secretary-general Kofi Annan demanded today that Hezbollah release two captured Israeli soldiers to the international Red Cross and that Israel lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.

Visiting Beirut on the first leg of an 11-day Middle East tour, Mr Annan said he was renewing his “call for the abducted soldiers to be free” and urged Hezbollah to transfer them to the Lebanese government “or a third party” under the auspices of the international Red Cross.

“We, the UN, will be prepared to play a role if we are required to do so. And I offer our services,” he said.

Mr Annan also urged Israel to lift its blockade on Lebanon.

“I’m working with them and a number of international partners to see to it that this is done,” he said.

Mr Annan said on his arrival in Beirut that it was “a very critical time” for the country.

He is meeting Lebanese leaders and visiting UN peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon during his two-day stay. He is also expected to visit Israel, and Hezbollah’s main supporters, Syria and Iran.

“I think it’s important that I come here myself to discuss with the Lebanese authorities the aftermath of the war and the measures we need to take to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and to underscore international solidarity,” he told reporters after being met at the airport by Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh.

The resolution ended 34 days of fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on August 14. It calls for deployment of 15,000 peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and an equal number of Lebanese troops to patrol the border region when Israel withdraws.

Italy’s Cabinet today approved sending 2,500 troops to serve in a strengthened UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.

Premier Romano Prodi has been at the forefront of efforts to get other European nations to contribute to the mission and Mr Annan has asked Italy to command the Lebanon force from next February, after France.

Gathering France’s ambassadors at the Elysee Palace for their annual conference, President Jacques Chirac did not address the disappointment in the international community over his nation’s delay in announcing a big troop announcement until last week – which many countries had been awaiting before committing their own forces.

Mr Chirac said he regretted that the European Union did not play a larger role from the start in ending the fighting, saying he had asked several times for EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana to be authorised to act on behalf of the 25-nation bloc in regard to the Lebanon crisis.

“Europe was too absent from the Lebanese crisis,” he said.