China willing to expand troops in UN forces, says FM spokesman

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday in Beijing that the Chinese government has conveyed to the United Nations its willingness to send more troops to the UN Interim Force to Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The concrete steps of sending more troops to the UN forces is still under consultation, spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news briefing.

China always concerns about and supports the Mideast peace process, and deems it important for stabilizing the Mideast situation to carry out the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and to expand and deploy the forces at an early date, Qin said.

"As a permanent member of UN Security Council and a peaceloving country, China will make positive contributions to this end," Qin said.

Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the UN forces will be expanded to 15,000 troops to monitor a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah group.

Source: Xinhua