VARIOUS: British Prime Minister Tony Blair says Britain hopes for a U.N. resolution on Wednesday calling for ceasefire in Lebanon

Britain hopes for a U.N. resolution on Wednesday (August 9, 2006) calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon, Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Tuesday (August 8). In a television interview, Blair said he hoped "I'm acturally hopeful the UN resolution will be agreed tomorrow, and then can work on the long-term solution." France and the United States have drafted a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire. Diplomats envision a second resolution that would call for Israel to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon and a foreign force to come to the area. But the Arab League, after a meeting in Beirut, has said any resolution should call for Israel to pull out troops. Israel says it won't leave until an international force arrives. Blair, whose position has mirrored that of the United States since the conflict began, said negotiators should "take account of the reasonable representations made by the Arab League", but an Israeli withdrawal would not be in the first resolution. "I think the important thing is that once the resolution is agreed, and that calls for a cessation of hostilities, you are then able to get the second resolution, which is the one that will have the multinational force coming in and the Israeli troops withdrawing." Britain, Washington's main diplomatic and military partner in Afghanistan and Iraq, has no troops to offer for a force for Lebanon and has taken a back seat in U.S.-French negotiations over a resolution. Blair has been much criticised at home, including by members of his ruling Labour Party, for backing the United States in resisting calls for an "immediate" ceasefire before an international force is agreed. Like U.S. President George W. Bush, Blair says a ceasefire by itself would not last. Blair, who put off his summer holiday last week over the Lebanon crisis, said he would leave later on Tuesday.

ITN Source | August 10, 2006

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