BRUSSELS, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The European Union adopted a resolution Tuesday calling for an immediate end to fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
The foreign ministers of the 25 member countries supported a French proposal that called for a cease-fire, a political agreement and, only then, the deployment of an international force on the border between Lebanon and Israel, The New York Times reported. The plan is the opposite of President Bush's call for an international force before a cease-fire.
A number of E.U. countries, including France, Italy and Poland, already have soldiers in Lebanon and have said they would contribute to the new U.N. peacekeeping force. Several other European countries have also volunteered to participate.
The United States, with large numbers of its soldiers tied down in Afghanistan and Iraq, has said it cannot send troops to Lebanon.
"Bush can say, 'Boys, let's go,'" one minister said. "The only problem is that the boys are other countries' boys."
