Italy Prepares for Troop Deployment in Lebanon

Five warships are standing by to leave the Italian Adriatic port of Taranto on Tuesday to ferry the soldiers to the Middle East where they will eventually form the biggest national component of an expected 15,000-strong UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon).

"We will sign the decree this afternoon," Prodi told Italian media Monday, confirming a government decision taken 10 days ago to send the troops.

On Tuesday, five warships -- the aircraft carrier Garibaldi, three landing ships and an escort vessel -- were expected to leave Taranto for the Lebanese port of Naqura, the UNIFIL base.

The troops, comprising battle-hardened forces from Italy's Iraq contingent, will be accompanied by Defense Minister Arturo Parisi and the Armed Forces Chief General Gianpaolo Di Paolo.

Italy will assume control of the international force from France in February next year, when the Italian contingent is expected to reach 3,500 troops.

The EU has agreed to provide 7,000 troops to the international force, half its projected strength, to help maintain a fragile ceasefire following Israel's blitz against Hezbollah militants which claimed more than 1,300 lives, mostly civilian.

Italy to "defend and consolidate peace"

"We are not going to war, but we are going to Lebanon to defend and consolidate peace," Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said. "The mission could be a long one. I hope that we will be successful in the sense that we can guarantee peace, help Lebanon to rediscover unity and its full sovereignty, and reassure Israel."

There may yet be a political dividend for Italy. D'Alema said on Sunday that Rome's deepening diplomatic role in the Middle East gave it the right to be included in nuclear negotiations with Iran, currently led by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.

However the foreign ministry was forced to deny on Monday that Rome was involved in secret talks over a prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had said in a television interview on Sunday night that "negotiations on a prisoner exchange began recently" with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri as intermediary, and that Italy and the United Nations had expressed interest in being involved.

"We are referring to what Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema has said in the past few days, that there are no secret negotiations," a ministry spokesman said.

Hezbollah's capture of the two soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12 triggered the massive 34-day Israeli offensive in Lebanon.

Italians open for negotiation role

For his part, Sergio Di Gregorio, chairman of the defense commission in the Italian Senate, left open the door to Italian involvement in such negotiations. "If we succeeded, it would be the best kind of support for the UNIFIL mission," he told the daily La Stampa.

"I repeat, that Iran has made known that it only trusts Italy. Naturally, they also say they do not have possession of the prisoners, but could put pressure on Hezbollah," Di Gregorio said.

Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac warned on Monday that fighting could resume in Lebanon without a lasting settlement, as he urged Iran to build the "conditions for trust" in its stand-off with the West.

Chirac calls for lasting peace settlement

In a wide-ranging foreign policy speech, Chirac urged all parties in the conflict to help secure a long-term settlement in Lebanon, two weeks into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah.

"The choice is between a resumption of hostilities, creating a permanent rift between two neighboring peoples, and the political option of a global and lasting settlement," he told an annual meeting of French ambassadors in Paris.

Chirac urged Israel to end its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, saying the measure -- intended to cut Hezbollah's supply lines -- was "seriously harming" the economy. He also called for the holding of an international conference to address the aid situation following 34 days of bloodshed.

Under UN resolution 1701, which ended the fighting, a robust international force is to deploy in south Lebanon. European Union states have so far pledged nearly 7,000 troops, nearly half the envisaged total of 15,000.

Sovereignty over all Lebanon

Chirac said the UN text provided "the framework for a lasting settlement based on Israel's security and Lebanon's sovereignty over its whole territory."

It "outlines a process which must lead to the disarmament of militias and the settlement of border questions, including that of the Shebaa Farms," a disputed territory controlled by Israel, Chirac said.

Israel captured the small, mountainous territory between Lebanon, Syria and Israel in the June 1967 Middle East war, but it is now claimed by Beirut with the backing of Damascus.

Chirac appealed directly to Syria -- Hezbollah's key backer along with Iran -- to help secure a lasting peace in the region.

He urged Damascus to "move beyond its isolationist logic", saying the Middle East "needs Syria to be active in the service of peace and regional stability."