French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on Thursday that Paris
was waiting for an agreement in New York to finalize a United Nations resolution
on Lebanon.
"We are expecting an agreement in New York from one moment to the next," he
told journalists.
"I have seen some very positive developments over the past 24 hours. Things
are moving today in New York. I hope they move even faster in the coming hours,"
he said.
Douste-Blazy reiterated France's conditions for the agreement over the terms
of the resolution, including gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army from South
Lebanon.
He also recalled French President Jacques Chirac's remarks on Wednesday to
hand over the resolution to the UN Security Council even without Washington's
agreement.
Washington and Israel want that the Israeli troops be authorized to stay in
Lebanon until an international force arrives and is deployed in the border zone.
France had wanted a resolution to incorporate Lebanese demands that Israeli
troops leave as soon as fighting stops, but on Wednesday it proposed that Israel
be allowed to carry out a phased withdrawal once a truce is reached.
