United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan will begin a whirldwind tour of the Middle East on Friday in a bid to drum up support for the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon.
During his visit to Middle East countries, including Iran and Syria, Annan will stress the need to 'faithfully implement' the UN Security Council resolution, which led to cessation of hostilties between Israel and Hizbollah.
Though UN officials were tightlipped about the tour, diplomats said Annan is expected to urge Iran to rein in Hezbollah, which is said to be financing it.
He is also likely to ask Syria to stop interfering in Lebanon and ensure that it does not become conduit for supply to arms to militants groups in Lebanon.
Annan will begin his trip in Brussels where he will attend a meeting of European foreign ministers being held to organise troops for the expanded UN mission in Lebanon. This has been provided for in the Council resolution adopted with the backing of France and the United States.
Several troop contributors still have doubts about the rules of engagement drawn up by the United Nations, which will allow the peacekeepers to use force to defend themselves.
They still have questions including the force's relationship with the Lebanese and Israeli armies and Hezbollah.
Besides, there is the fear that their troops might get mired in a difficult situation should the fragile ceasefire break down at some stage.
However, Annan is encouraged by Italy's decision to lead the peacekeeping operation by offering around 3,000 troops but still the UN has to find a minimum of 10,000 troops to make its mission effective even if Rome keeps its promise.
Annan would seek more troops from Europe, a key demand of Israel as also discuss if any modification of mandate is required.
He also plans to visit Palestinian territories, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan but the sequence of stops are yet to be determined, UN officials said.
Asked whether Annan would discuss with Iranian leaders the issue of Tehran nuclear programme, a UN spokesman said the focus would be on the implementation of the resolution calling for cessation of hostilities in Lebanon but other issues, too, could come up.
The resolution calls for both sides to support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict while respecting several principles.
These include ensuring that the area between the Blue Line, the border between Israel and Lebanon, and the Litani river in southern Lebanon is free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Lebanese armed forces and UNIFIL.
Meanwhile, diplomats said a major concern deterring the troop contributors was the fear that their forces might get into conflict with Hezbollah even though the resolution does not call for its disarmament.
But the militant groups is still entrenched in southern Lebanon and has only agreed to keep its arms under wraps.
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