A UN Security Council resolution aimed at ending fighting between Israel
and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas should include a demand for the Israeli
withdrawal of troops from southern Lebanon, a senior Jordanian official said in
remarks published here on Thursday.
Otherwise, the situation in the
Middle East could deteriorate rapidly and even spiral out of control, Jordanian
Foreign MinisterAbdul Ilah al-Khatib said in an interview with Finnish newspaper
Helsingin Sanomat.
The UN resolution should stipulate a ceasefire between the parties to the
conflict and ban all military offensives, Khatib said.
In discussing the French-U.S. draft resolution, the Security Council should
heed the opinions of the Arab League, he said.
Khatib was accompanying King Abdullah II on a visit to Finland on Wednesday
for talks on the Middle East crisis. Finland currently holds the rotating
European Union (EU) presidency.
In the interview with the Finnish daily, Khatib also voiced concern about the
escalation of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, and hoped the EU would play an
important role in the efforts to find a solution to it.
