Peres's comments came as Annan arrived in Syria, which is accused of funneling Iranian weapons across its border with Lebanon to the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah militia.
ROME: UN troops will help prevent fresh fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon but the real issue remains the militant group's disarmament, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said on Thursday.
"The UN resolution demands the disarmament of Hezbollah. There are several ways of doing that ... The real problem is who will control the borders," Peres told Italian television during a visit to Rome.
"I think the UN secretary general (Kofi Annan) is in the process of finding a solution."
Peres's comments came as Annan arrived in Syria, which is accused of funneling Iranian weapons across its border with Lebanon to the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah militia.
The UN chief is due to meet Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Thursday evening and President Bashar al-Assad on Friday. He was expected to press Assad to help implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that led to the end of the 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The resolution calls for a strengthened international force in south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Syria denies arming Hezbollah with Iranian weapons and has rejected the proposed deployment of UN troops along its border with Lebanon as a "hostile" act.
The Lebanese government has also rejected the idea, saying its own troops can secure the border. Peres was in the Italian capital to thank Rome for agreeing to provide some 2,500 troops to the new UN force for southern Lebanon.
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