The UN Security Council is expected this week to mandate the new multinational peacekeeping contingent to support the Lebanese government forces as they move into the south of the country, where the conflict between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hizbollah is entering its third week, with more than 700 Lebanese civilians dead.
"This multinational force, or stabilization force, could be somehow combined with the Lebanese army," said Sergei Yakovlev, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special envoy on the Middle East peace process.
But he said all decisions would be made with the approval of all UN Security Council members, and it was too early to make predictions on how the situation will develop.
The existing UN force in south Lebanon, Unifil, has been in the region for years, but failed to prevent either Hizbollah rocket attacks or Israeli military incursions.
