Europe’s leaders on Monday sought to build momentum behind a United Nations plan to send soldiers to the conflict zone in Lebanon. But doubts about the viability of such a move – already resisted by Israel – were raised when George W. Bush, US president, made unguarded critical remarks about the thinking behind the idea.

Meeting at the G8 summit in St Petersburg, Tony Blair of Britain, Jacques Chirac of France and Angela Merkel of Germany rallied behind the proposal to deploy thousands of soldiers to southern Lebanon to serve as a “buffer” between the battling forces. This would supplement a UN force of 2,000 already in the area with a mandate to restore “peace and security”.