Last Updated: Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Germany backs Lebanon naval force http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5342062.stm
[The mission must still be approved by parliament]
The German government has approved plans to send warships to the eastern Mediterranean as part of a UN peacekeeping mission for Lebanon.
Up to 2,400 navy personnel will patrol Lebanon's coast to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah militants.
But Germany is not sending ground troops to the region because of sensitivities over its Nazi past.
Russia has announced it is sending a battalion of army engineers to Lebanon to help rebuild its infrastructure.
[This decision was made in view both of our particular responsibility for Israel's right to exist and for a solid solution for peace in the region
Angela Merkel German chancellor]
The contingent, up to 400 strong, will not be part of the UN mission and will not take part in mine-clearing.
It is due to arrive in late September or early October and will stay for three to four months, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said.
In August, a UN-brokered truce ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
More than 1,100 people - mostly civilians - were killed in Lebanon during the war. In Israel, more than 150 people - mainly soldiers - were killed.
'Particular responsibility'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel described as "historic" the decision to deploy warships in the eastern Mediterranean.
Mrs Merkel said it "was made in view both of our particular responsibility for Israel's right to exist, and for a solid solution for peace in the region".
Berlin's contingent will be the second-largest in the 15,000-strong UN force after Italy's, which is 3,000 soldiers strong.
The Middle East mission must still be approved by parliament in a vote expected next week.
The issue of sending German troops to the Middle East - some 60 years after the Nazis wiped out millions of Jews - has divided the country.
Partly because of concerns that German troops might be drawn into fighting against Israeli soldiers, Berlin has refused to follow other European nations in sending ground troops to Lebanon.