Ceasefire and Troops on the Table at Rome Conference

Wednesday's four-hour conference at Italy's foreign ministry will bring together ministers from 15 countries as well as top officials from the UN, the EU and the World Bank.

"The primary objective is a ceasefire," Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi told journalists Tuesday, although clear differences were emerging as to when a cessation of hostilities should begin.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora had little hope of achieving an early ceasefire as he left Beirut.

"I want to be clear on this: I do not expect the Rome conference to lead to a ceasefire, even if we must do everything in our power to reach one," he said, making it clear he saw it more as an exercise in advertising the plight of the Lebanese people.

"This visit will serve to have Lebanon's voice heard and to explain (to the international community) the hardships that the Lebanese are suffering," Siniora said ahead of the conference.

Calls to disarm Hezbollah

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Monday he was going to press for a truce and creation of a buffer force in south Lebanon, as well as the release of the two Israeli soldiers whose abduction sparked Israel's offensive, and an end to Hezbollah's rocket attacks on northern Israel.

He also stressed the need to secure full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1559 which calls for the disarming of Hezbollah, and for the Lebanese government to reassert its authority throughout its territory.

Many other countries and leaders have called for an immediate ceasefire, including France, Russia, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Pope Benedict XVI.

Linked to the ceasefire issue is the question of a stabilization force for southern Lebanon.

Peacekeepers' mandate under debate

The idea of deploying an international peacekeeping force to the region was gathering momentum on Tuesday, but many questions remain about what its mandate would be, top diplomats said.

Coming up with an outline for what sort of force could be used to police any future peace is a main objective of the Rome meeting, but it is unclear who would be willing to take part and how long any force would have to stay.

"The basic elements, I think, will be clarified (Wednesday)," said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Almost 400 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Lebanon since Israel's offensive against Hezbollah started some two weeks ago, according to information from medics, police and Hezbollah.

Debate with Damascus

Any international force entering the region would need to have a United Nations mandate allowing them to deploy in southern Lebanon up to the border with Syria. Israel has repeatedly accused Syria of delivering weapons to Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran, across the border. The government in Damascus strongly denies the charge.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) -- with the United States as its dominant force -- has the command structure, planning capability and political coordination to run such a multinational operation, but Solana seemed to doubt that it would play a role.

"We have to be very careful with the perception of people since we want to get the people on our side," said Solana, a former NATO secretary general.

For the EU, there is one obvious benefit to taking part. Playing such a role means the bloc would increase its leverage in the region and its standing as a future broker for peace.

"Trust is nonexistent"

"I think that without Europeans ... the force will not exist. To me it is fundamental that some European countries participate," Solana said.

On Monday, the German government said it hoped the conference would reach "rapid and practical solutions" to humanitarian issues such as the evacuation and well-being of refugees who are flooding out of southern Lebanon fleeing Israeli bombardment.

European Commission President Manuel Barroso told reporters Monday, "I think it is obvious that this international presence is necessary because the level of trust between the belligerent parties is non-existent. … Only with an international force can we have the minimum conditions for peace."

Germans question role

The idea of an international force -- which would most likely be led by France and Turkey, according to US news reports -- has caused public flip-flopping in Germany.

After vague responses from German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this week in response to questions of whether Germany would contribute troops, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung reversed the official line when he told Germany's N24 television station Berlin "could not refuse such a peace mission" under certain circumstances.