German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Beirut today for talks with Lebanese leaders and to inspect a German naval task force serving with a U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon. Merkel, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, was met by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora at Beirut airport. She plans talks with Saniora and with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Merkel also planned to visit a German navy ship at Beirut Harbor during her one-day trip to Lebanon. The Germans lead a naval task force of about 1,700 men and women who are patrolling the Lebanese coastline to prevent weapons from being smuggled to Lebanon in accordance with a U.N. resolution that ended the summer war with Israel. The naval task force is attached to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon. UNIFIL, numbering a total of about 13,000, is deployed along the border with Israel. Merkel has made the Middle East a top priority of her six-month EU presidency and is currently on a tour of the region. She flew to Lebanon from Israel Monday. -- SPA
