Syria Announces Lebanon Pullback

“We will pull all our forces in Lebanon to the Bekaa area and from there to the Syrian-Lebanese border,” Assad said in a rare speech to parliament, reported Reuters.

“By this measure Syria would have fulfilled its commitment towards the Taif Agreement and implemented (UN Security Council) Resolution 1559 ,” asserted the Syrian leader.

The agreement, which put an end to Lebanon's1975 - 1990civil war, provides for “the two governments to determine the strength and duration of the presence of the Syrian forces” but does not set a specific deadline for a Syrian withdrawal.

Assad said that the Syrian-Lebanese Supreme Council on Security will meet later this week to approve the plan but gave no specific timetable for the gradual withdrawal.

He maintained that Syria was not against a full withdrawal from Lebanon, pointing out that the country has already pulled out thousands of its troops since September 2000 and wanted to see them come home.

The series of redeployments have seen Syrian troop numbers fall from a high of40 , 000after they first moved in a year after the start of Lebanon's civil war to the current14 ,000.

“The natural place for Syrian forces is Syrian land,” Assad said, asserting that the withdrawal is “in the interests of Syria.”

The one-hour speech was punctuated by frequent bursts of applause from the lawmakers, who surrounded Assad and cheered as he left the parliament building.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Syrians were gathered outside the parliament watching the proceedings on big screens, waving Syrian flags and greeting Assad's statements.

Earlier, Lebanese forces in Beirut briefly deployed outside three Syrian intelligence buildings in the Lebanese capital, although there was no clear explanation for the move.

A Lebanese officer at the scene said the move was a “prelude to the Lebanese army taking charge of positions that will be evacuated by the Syrian army.”

Last September the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1559 sponsored by Paris and Washington demanding the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon, a clear reference to the Syrian forces.

The United States and France have been piling pressure on Syria for a complete withdrawal of troops and intelligence services.

Positive

Lebanon's leading opposition politician Walid Jumblatt described as “positive” Assad’s decision, which was widely expected.

“This is a positive start ... Our hands are extended with the insistence on a timetable for the withdrawal,” Jumblatt told Lebanon's LBC television.

Thousands of protesters, waving Lebanese flags, erupted in joy in central Beirut after Assad’s speech.

Women wept and men screamed in celebration when the crowd, watching Assad on big screens, heard the Syrian leader declaring the move, according to Reuters.

The announces was also praised by a spokeswoman for the European Union as “a positive development if it is a step towards a full withdrawal because this would be very important for the peace and stability of the region.”

She added that the withdrawal “should take place as speedily and smoothly as possible.”

“No Half Measures”

Hours before the Syrian announcement, US President George W. Bush stepped up calls for a complete and immediate Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.

“For years, the Lebanese people have suffered from the aftermath of a horrific civil war and occupation by Syria,” Bush said in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

“A Syrian withdrawal of all its military and intelligence personnel would help ensure that the Lebanese elections occur as scheduled in the spring, and that they will be free and fair.”

On Friday, Bush warned the Syrian leadership that there could be “no half-hearted measures.”

“There are no half-measures involved. We mean complete withdrawal, no half-hearted measures,” he said.

Bush earlier called for all Syrian forces to be out by May to clear the way for fair parliamentary elections.

French President Jacques Chirac also pressed Friday for “full, entire and immediate application of UN Security Council resolution1559 ”.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned Syria it risked becoming a “pariah state” over the Lebanese crisis.

Syria has long maintained that it needs to retain troops in Lebanon because of Israel's continued occupation of the Lebanese Shebaa Farms and the Syrian Golan Heights, seized in the 1967 Middle East war.

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