French President Jacques Chirac reiterated on Friday that the enlarged UN force in Lebanon should have a clear mission, specific rules of engagement, and that it should be truly international.

The statement was made during the French president's phone call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the president's office said.

In the phone call, Chirac stressed "the importance of specifying as far as possible the mission, the rules of engagement, the chain of command and the means of this force," a presidential spokesman said.

The president "insisted on a necessary balance in the distribution of the contingents which must reflect the engagement of all the international community, including the European countries," the spokesman added.

France, which has 200 troops in the existing UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), offered on Thursday to send 200 more troops to help the Lebanese establish a buffer zone near its southern border with Israel. France currently commands the UN troops in Lebanon.

France was expected to send as many as 2,000-4,000 troops to Lebanon after UN Security Council Resolution 1701 authorized the UN force to expand from its current total of 2,000 troops to 15,000.

Merkel ruled out late on Thursday sending ground troops to join the UN force, but was considering sending a maritime protection component and providing logistic, air transport and reconnaissance support for the force.

According to schedule, the first deployment of about 3,000 UN troops in Lebanon is expected within 10 to 15 days.

Countries like Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey have expressed their willingness to contribute to the force.

Italy's centre-left government on Friday formally approved the deployment of troops to Lebanon.

A cabinet meeting did not specify the size of the Italian contingent but officials say Rome is ready to deploy up to 3,000 troops. That would make it one of the biggest contributors, particularly after France's refusal to provide a large force.

"Italy wants to make its contribution to peace," Prime Minister Romano Prodi told a news conference after the special meeting of ministers.

A UN Security Council resolution approved last week called for a truce and a peacekeeping force to help the Lebanese army supervise the pull-out of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, after 34 days of fighting which killed some 1,300 people.

The UN force for Lebanon is expected to eventually number 15,000.

Source: China Daily