Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected a call to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.
The call was made by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Olmert said that the blockade would end once all aspects of a ceasefire were in place.
The Israeli Prime Minister also ruled out any withdrawal of troops from southern Lebanon until the ceasefire was fully implemented.
Annan asked Israel to lift its sea and air blockade from Lebanon immediately and urged to withdraw its forces once 5,000 international troops are deployed.
Olmert said that Israel would only allow free movement after the full implementation of a UN-brokered cease-fire that ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas.
Under the truce, 15,000 Lebanese soldiers and 15,000 international troops are to be deployed in southern Lebanon.
Olmert, Annan and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni all expressed hope on Wednesday that the cease-fire deal would evolve into a full-fledged peace accord, which Israeli leaders have long hoped to reach with Lebanon.
The vastly different visions of future relations between the two nations reflect their conflicting priorities.
Israel wants to prevent future attacks from its northern neighbor, while Lebanon is focused on rebuilding from the recent fighting and trying to maintain peace between its fractious religious groups, some of whom are sworn enemies of Israel.
The cease-fire deal could be ''a cornerstone to build a new reality between Israel and Lebanon,'' Olmert said at a news conference with Annan.
Implementation of the truce ''gives us a foundation to move forward and settle the differences between Israel and Lebanon once and for all, to establish a durable peace,'' Annan said after meeting with Livni.
But Lebanon has hesitated in reaching a separate agreement with Israel as long as Israel's conflicts with the Palestinians and Syria are not resolved.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora quashed hopes of a peace deal any time soon, saying Lebanon ''will be the last Arab country that could sign a peace agreement with Israel.''
The Arab initiative calls for an Israeli withdrawal from all territories captured in the 1967 Middle East war and the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital - demands Israel rejects.
A Hezbollah legislator also ruled out talks toward a wider peace deal.
With AP inputs
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