Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said on Monday that his country
would contribute troops to an Israel-Lebanon border peacekeeping force if such a
force was to be formed, local media reported.
Brazil had joined other peacekeeping missions in the Middle East and would
again be willing to take part in a possible Israel-Lebanon border force, Amorim
told reporters on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization meeting in Geneva,
Switzerland.
Amorim said the UN Security Council had to make the decision about forming
such a force as soon as possible.
He also urged both Hezbollah and Israel to halt their reprisal attacks
immediately.
More than 370 people have been killed in Lebanon and at least 37 in Israel
since the military conflicts flared up on July 12.
Ten Brazilian nationals have also died in the conflicts. A total of 248
Brazilians have been airlifted out of the war-affected areas.
Amorim said Brazil would keep in close contact with Israel, Syria and Turkey
in case that more Brazilian nationals living in the region needed to be
evacuated.
