Brazil on Tuesday praised Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi for the decision to host an international conference over the crisis in Lebanon.

In a statement, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that Brazil had been following the situation in Lebanon with great concern.

"We repudiate terrorism, under any circumstances, but we also have to condemn, in the most vehement terms, the wide use of force, which has led to the death of a great number of civilians, women and children included, and the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure," said Lula.

Lula stressed his country's support to all the UN Security Council decisions, and added that Brazil was interested in all on-going diplomatic measures for an immediate cease-fire.

In a separate statement, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim stressed the importance of Prodi's initiative to hold the Rome meeting, especially when the international community needed to work together to seek a diplomatic solution to the current conflict.

The conference, which opens on Wednesday in Rome, will focus on the possibility of sending international forces to Lebanon, the conditions for a cease-fire, and humanitarian help for the 600,000 Lebanese who have been displaced by the Israeli raids.

Source: Xinhua