US and France Close to Ceasefire Agreement

Diplomats at the United Nations expressed optimism last night that a Lebanese ceasefire deal will be finalised today, bringing to an end more than a fortnight of frustratingly slow negotiation.

The US and France, acting on behalf of Israel and Lebanon, were close to a compromise yesterday on the critical issue of an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. "We have got something we can work on," one of the diplomats close to the negotiations said. "The US and France have both made concessions."

The foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, breaking off from her holiday in France, flew to New York last night for what she hoped would be the final round of negotiations.

The permanent five members of the UN security council - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China - are due to meet this afternoon to agree the draft ceasefire resolution.

The US state department said yesterday the US team was "having good discussions" with France on the draft resolution. John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN, said it was "not unrealistic" that the draft resolution would be finalised to allow a vote by all 15 members of the security council today "but there are no guarantees of it either". Diplomats see a vote tomorrow as more likely.

Israel and Hizbullah will be under pressure to end hostilities as soon as the UN resolution is passed. The latest draft calls for a gradual Israeli withdrawal. Copies of the draft have been handed to the Israeli and Lebanese delegations for final approval.

Under the proposed deal, the Israeli army would mount a phased withdrawal, to be replaced by a 15,000-strong Lebanese army force, supported by the existing 2,000-strong UN force, Unifil, and possibly advance elements of a new international force.

It was suggested that the resolution might be adopted under chapter 7 of the UN charter, allowing the incoming troops to use force "to maintain or restore international peace and security".

The prospects of a ceasefire resolution receded on Wednesday morning after a clash between the US and France over Arab demands for an immediate Israeli withdrawal. But later in the day the two teams met the British, Russian and Chinese delegations, who said the gap between them was not as wide as they thought.

Lebanon and Hizbullah had refused to accept a ceasefire until there was a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal. Israel had refused to pull out until an international force moved into southern Lebanon, saying the Lebanese army alone was not capable of monitoring Hizbullah to ensure that it fired no more rockets.

Added impetus to agreeing a deal was provided by a threat by the French president, Jacques Chirac, on Wednesday to table an independent French draft resolution, a prospect that appalled Washington. The Israelis exerted leverage of their own on Wednesday, threatening to expand the land offensive unless there is a diplomatic solution.

David Welch, the US assistant secretary of state, who had been due to fly to Washington after a visit to Beirut on Wednesday, changed his plans yesterday to fly to Israel to help sell the latest draft resolution.

The Israeli government indicated yesterday that it was prepared to wait at least until the weekend before launching the full-scale invasion of southern Lebanon it approved on Wednesday. "There are diplomatic considerations," Rafi Eitan, a cabinet minister, said yesterday. "There is still a chance that an international force will arrive in the area. We have no interest in being in south Lebanon. We have an interest in peace on our borders."

Tony Blair spoke to Mr Chirac yesterday as part of the drive to finalise the deal.