European Union foreign ministers called today for an immediate end to hostilities in Lebanon but dropped a demand for an instant ceasefire at the insistence of the United States' closest allies in the bloc.
A statement adopted at a rare August crisis meeting of the 25-nation EU said: "The Council calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities to be followed by a sustainable ceasefire."
The convoluted formula emerged from four hours of talks as Israel intensified attacks on Hizbollah guerrillas and vowed to step up ground operations, defying calls to halt an onslaught sparked by the seizure of two Israeli soldiers on July 12th.
An initial draft proposed by the EU's Finnish presidency had said flatly: "The Council called for an immediate ceasefire."
But Britain, backed by Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark, insisted on the alternative wording and unanimity is required for EU foreign policy statements.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, who chaired the talks, denied the bloc was split and said the meaning was the same: "There are no divisions in the EU ... This means there will be no shooting, no killing. There is no difference."
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said the idea of a phased halt to the fighting corresponded to a draft UN Security Council resolution that Paris has circulated. That proposes a framework for an end to fighting, principles of a political settlement, a permanent ceasefire and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.
"Once this framework has been established, EU member states have indicated their readiness to contribute to such an operation together with international partners," ministers said. EU members France, Italy, Finland, Poland, Sweden and Spain are all considering sending peacekeepers to Lebanon.
EU candidate Turkey and Muslim Asian state Indonesia have also said they may provide troops if there is a peace to keep.
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told reporters: "We risk that if the war continues, at the end deployment of the force becomes impossible because we need an agreement with the Lebanese government, with the other countries in the region."