VILNIUS - Lithuania would consider the possibility of joining the European Union (EU) mission in war-torn Lebanon if a relevant proposal was received, Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas said after meeting with President Valdas Adamkus on Friday, BNS reported.
A joint statement passed by EU foreign ministers in Brussels earlier this week addresses an EU mission but notes it would require a mandate from the United Nations, said the minister, adding that goals, character and duration of the mission would have to be defined.
"All these conditions have not been planned yet," Vaitiekunas outlined.
At the meeting in Brussels earlier this week, EU ministers called for immediate termination of military actions in the Middle East. They also expressed readiness to contribute to the formation of international peacekeeping forces and restated their obligation to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the crisis-stricken Lebanon.
EU ministers agreed on bringing UN-sanctioned international peacekeeping forces into the region.
The Lithuanian government this week decided to allocate 300,000 litas (EUR 87,000) in humanitarian assistance to the war-torn Lebanon.
Israel's Armed Forces launched air raids on Lebanon in mid-July after Lebanon-based radical Islamic organization Hizbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. Israel continues bombarding what it sees as Hizbollah positions and objects but the campaign of bombardment has claimed lives of several hundred peaceful residents of Lebanon. Israel has pledged to terminate the military actions after the kidnapped soldiers are released.
As of July 31, the military campaign has claimed 620 lives in Lebanon and 51 in Israel in addition to four observers of the United Nations. At least 700,000 residents of Lebanon have been left homeless or were forced to flee their homes. About 150,000 Lebanese people have applied for asylum in the neighboring Syria. Some 280,000 people have left territories in southern Lebanon.
