U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanon and for Hezbollah to release two captured Israeli soldiers.

Mr. Annan made the plea Monday in Beirut after meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and a Hezbollah cabinet minister, Mohammed Fneish.


Hezbollah seized the two Israeli soldiers during a cross-border raid July 12. The raid, in which three Israeli soldiers were killed, led to 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Mr. Annan said on his trip to Beirut he wanted to discuss the aftermath of the war and implementation of the U.N. ceasefire resolution, and to underscore international solidarity regarding Lebanon.


The U.N. chief is also to visit Israel, Syria and Iran.

Meanwhile, Turkey says it has agreed to contribute troops to an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon. The move will require the approval of the Turkish parliament.

In Paris, French President Jacques Chirac also called for Israel to lift the blockade against Lebanon, and for an urgent meeting of the Middle East quartet - the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and Russia - on the situation between Israel and the Palestinians.

France, which will command the U.N. force in southern Lebanon until early next year, is sending 2,000 troops to the force.

Lebanon says the blockades are a violation of the U.N. ceasefire resolution. Israel says the measures will remain in place until U.N. forces are posted along Lebanon's borders to stop weapons being smuggled to Hezbollah.