PARIS (EJP)--- France wishes to "go further" in its commitment of troops to southern Lebanon "once conditions are fulfilled", French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said Wednesday after meeting with Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni in Paris.

"Today we’re the country that is the most committed and present on the ground. We want to go further once conditions are fulfilled," Villepin said.

"It is extremely important for France, with our strong experience in Lebanon, with international experience in other arenas, that all guarantees can be supplied for an effective deployment of Unifil (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) on the ground."

Earlier, Livni and her French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy said in a joint press conference that they had both agreed that reinforcements to the UN interim force in Lebanon had to be sent "with a clear and clearly defined mandate".

He said both also wanted "a full and complete application of UN Security Council resolution 1701 by all the parties, including Hezbollah."

The resolution called for a ceasefire and gave a mandate for a UN force of up to 15,000 international troops to assist the Lebanese army in taking controlof southern Lebanon.

The European Union, which is expected to lead the extended UN peacekeeping mission to enforce the ceasefire, has so far appeared wary of sending troops to a risk area without a clear mandate.

EU foreign ministers are to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Friday to discuss the participation of EU troops in the international force for Lebanon.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is also expected to attend the meeting, organised by the EU Finnish presidency.

Livni said Israel halted its offensive on the basis of the resolution and on the on the international community’s willingness to act to stop Hezbollah missile attacks.

"The international community’s forces must be there to help the Lebanese government and army to regain control of its territory," she said.

She added that Israel and the Lebanese population paid "an extremely heavy price" for the non-application of an earlier UN resolution which had demanded the disarmament of Hezbollah and other Lebanese militia.

"The final goal is that of a Lebanon that is free and free of militias," she said, adding that "all extremists’ eyes are focused on the region now" to see what will be the outcome of the conflict.

Livni also thanked Douste-Blazy for calling for the release of Israeli soldiers in the hands of Hezbollah and Hamas, and said: "I hope that after these months of violence we can turn towards a brighter future for all the region."

Douste-Blazy, who made four trips to Lebanon during and after the conflict, said before meeting Livni that he would ask her to lift Israel’s blockade on Lebanese ports and airports.

"If Lebanon is to reconstruct, if it is going to recover economically, this blockade must be lifted," he told a French television station.

Livni was due to hold talks with Italian Prime minister Romano Prodi and foreign minister Massimo D'Alema in Rome on Thursday. Italy has declared itself willing to assume command of the UN force if France fails to contribute significant numbers of troops.

In Paris, Israel's foreign minister also met with her Belgian counterpart Karel De Gucht, who was due in Israel later in the day. Belgium is among the various EU countries to have expressed willingness to deploy troops in southern Lebanon.

De Gucht is to discuss the issue with Israeli defence minister Amir Peretz. He will later travel to Lebanon for talks with the Lebanese leaders.

A decision about the deployment of Belgian troops will be made by the federal government on Friday.