French President Jacques Chirac said on Wednesday that a ceasefire was a prerequisite for further action in the Middle East, as the Israel-Lebanon conflict continued to spiral for a 15th day.

In an interview with the daily Le Monde, Chirac said that before any multinational force was dispatched to the region, a ceasefire should be in place, followed by the implementation of a political agreement negotiated by the two sides under the mediation of the international community.

To achieve this goal, he added, the Israeli soldiers held by the Shiite Hezbollah militia should be released.

The international force for Lebanon should operate under a Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, Chirac said. He added that it was not up to NATO to dispatch such a force, as the military organization is seen in the region as the "armed wing of the West."

On Sunday, Israel signaled its preference for an international force led by NATO in south Lebanon to ease tensions.

NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Wednesday declined to rule out NATO's role for the military alliance in an international peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

Also on Wednesday, Germany expressed skepticism over a NATO role in a possible security force in the Middle East, saying "it is clearly unsuitable for the task."

The mission of the international force "would be to control the ceasefire and assure the respect of the borders, both the Israeli-Lebanese border and Syrian-Lebanese border of course," Chirac said

Acknowledging that it was hard to find a country ready and able to assume such responsibilities, Chirac said France could play a leading role in the multinational force for Lebanon.

"France has always assumed its responsibilities in Lebanon. It will be determined according to some conditions. We hope to have a ceasefire, a political engagement and an international force charged of the implementation, in some strictly precise conditions," he said.

The French president also voiced hope that two political accords could be negotiated -- one between Lebanon's authorities and the Hezbollah militants first, then the other between Lebanon, Israel and the international community.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on July 12 after the guerrilla group captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border clash. Since then, Israel has launched sustained attacks in southern Lebanon while Hezbollah frequently fired rockets into northern Israel. So far, hundreds of Lebanese and dozens of Israelis have been killed in the violence.

Source: Xinhua