WASHINGTON - US officials expressed confidence Thursday that France would play a major role in a 15,000-member peacekeeping force for Lebanon even though Paris offered an initial contribution of just 200 extra troops for the operation.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy spoke by telephone with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke by telephone earlier Thursday and gave no indication France was scaling back its planned contribution to the force, a senior US official said.
"As far as I know, they are still looking at a serious contribution," said the official on condition of anonymity.
But officials said France had expressed concerns about the mandate and rules of engagement of the force as well as about the level of troop contributions from other UN members and wanted to clarify these elements before moving ahead.
08/17/2006 18:42 GMT