Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will write to US President George W Bush and urge him to use his influence to bring an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

"The letter will go out tomorrow," Abdullah told reporters after holding bilateral meetings with leaders from Iran, Turkey, Bangladesh and Pakistan at the end of a special meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Executive Committee in Putrajaya today.

According to Bernama , Abdullah, who is also the OIC chairperson, said the letter would contain a report on what was agreed at the meeting today as well as Malaysia's stand on the conflict.

Asked whether he had any confidence the letter would be able to influence Bush's stand on the issue, Abdullah said: "It depends on how you write the message, how persuasive you are and whether you are telling the truth. I think he should be able to listen to us."

The premier said today's OIC meeting was not the first action taken by Malaysia in response to Israel's attack on Lebanon.

Regrettable stand

He said the government had before this sent letters condemning the Zionist regime's military offensive to all the major powers, including the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

"All of them agreed to have a ceasefire as soon as possible except America and England. They refused and this enabled Israel to step up its violence. As well, America promised to give Israel smart bombs," he said.

He said the American refusal to support a ceasefire was most regrettable.

"We had hoped that America would be a middleman who could help reduce tension but it had chosen to side with the Israelis and allow them to make war and this is unjust," he said.

On Malaysia's willingness to despatch peacekeepers to Lebanon, Abdullah said the government would agree to send a fully equipped battalion.

However, he said, the Malaysian soldiers would play the role of maintaining peace and not be involved directly in the conflict.

"We will only go in when the situation permits," he said.

Besides Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei have also agreed to contribute peacekeepers to Lebanon.