Levy, Annan To Meet In Geneva

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy is slated to meet today with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Geneva to discuss Israel's plans for withdrawal from Lebanon, MA'ARIV reported.

Foreign Ministry officials said on Monday that Israel is interested in securing international cooperation in delineating the border, as well as in establishing an effective security mechanism to prevent an escalation of tension.

At a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen on Monday, Barak said, "We will redeploy to the international border, and we will protect Israel and its interests from within these borders. I believe that if there is a will to solve this problem, a solution will be found in cooperation with UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) and the UN Security Council." Cohen said that if an international force is deployed along the Israeli-Lebanese border, he does not think that the United States will be a part of it.

According to HA'ARETZ, Annan, in cooperation with the French government, is working to replace Resolution 425 with a new resolution, in an attempt to adjust the international force's mandate in Lebanon to meet the conditions of a post withdrawal situation. UN Secretary General in charge of Peace Keeping Forces Bernard Maya is expected to commence discussions this week with Security Council members regarding the deployment of an international force in Lebanon.