U.S., Britain Hold Out on Cease-Fire

In a conference partially overshadowed by Israel's killing of four U.N. peacekeepers in an airstrike Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held firm to the demand that any truce be part of a broader political agreement that sees Hezbollah militants disabled.

She resisted the entreaties of nearly all of her European and Arab counterparts, plus the impassioned pleas of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, all of whom argued for an immediate cease-fire.

"The more we delay the cease-fire," Siniora told a news conference, "the more we are going to witness more [people] being killed, more destruction and more aggression against civilians

Earlier, behind the closed doors of the meeting at the Italian Foreign Ministry, Siniora said: "Are we children of a lesser God? Is an Israeli teardrop worth more than a drop of Lebanese blood?"

Rice and the British representatives stood virtually alone in opposing an immediate cease-fire, participants in the talks said. Russia, Italy, France, the United Nations and all Arab delegates made an especially vocal argument for a halt to hostilities.

The meeting dragged on an extra 90 minutes as the two camps haggled over the word "immediate," according to a participant who briefed reporters.

The eventual statement from the diplomats expressed their "determination to work immediately to reach with the utmost urgency a cease-fire that puts an end to the current violence and hostilities."

"That cease-fire must be lasting, permanent and sustainable," the statement said.

Despite the absence of a breakthrough in the half-day of talks, several leaders said important groundwork was laid that could eventually lead to a solution to fighting that has claimed hundreds of lives.

Rice said participants agreed on the need for an end to hostilities that "this time, will be sustainable" instead of violent "spasm followed by spasm."

The statement was read by Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, representing the host nation. He was flanked by Rice, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Siniora. All were grim as they emerged from the meeting and presided over a brief news conference.