Annan Sets Plan to Defuse Middle East Crisis Into Motion

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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a three-person team to the Middle East to urge all parties to exercise restraint and help defuse the major crisis in the region, a spokesman said on Thursday.

The team will first visit Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials and consult with Arab League foreign ministers meeting there on Saturday, the spokesman said. Annan was traveling in Rome on Thursday.

The team is then expected to head to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria and possibly other destinations "as needed," the spokesman said.

Vijay Nambiar, Annan's political adviser, is to head the team. The other members are U.N. Middle East envoys Terje Roed Larsen and Alvaro de Soto.

Nambiar "will emphasize to all parties the secretary-general's call to exercise restraint and to do whatever possible to help contain the conflict," the spokesman said in a printed statement.

The team would also urge all sides to respect international humanitarian law on the need to protect civilians and civilian institutions in military settings, the statement said.

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