Syria and Lebanon agreed Monday on a partial Syrian pullout from Lebanon while reasserting their brotherly ties.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese counterpart Emile Lahoud announced at a joint supreme council meeting that Syrian troops would be redeployed to Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley.
It added a joint military commission would then determine within one month the size and length of stay of the remaining forces after the redeployment.
The move came amid mounting international pressure on Syria to pull out its 14,000 troops from neighboring Lebanon, over which Syria wields a significant political influence.
Anti-Syria emotions have running high in Lebanon and a popular protest late last month forced the pro-Syria cabinet to resign. The outpouring of opposition was triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a massive bombing attack on Feb. 14.
Hariri, a long-time Lebanese prime minister, resigned last October over disputes with incumbent President Lahoud, a Damascus favorite.
Hariri fell foul of Damascus after Syria threw its weight behind a constitution amendment to extend Lahoud's term.
Lebanese opposition accused Syria of playing a part in the killing of Hariri, a major architect of Lebanon's postwar revival and an opponent to Syria's dominance, but Damascus denied any involvement.
Moreover, the statement said, "The two sides affirmed their commitment to the Taif Accord and its mechanism ... and their respect to all resolutions issued by the international legitimacy including Resolution 1559."
The Taif Accord was signed in 1989, ending Lebanon's 1975-1990civil war and spelling out a Syrian pullout from its tiny neighbor. The United Nations passed Resolution 1559 last September, sponsored by the United States and France, urging all foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon, implicitly referring to Syria.
The statement reaffirmed close ties between the two countries, vowing to "enhance the course of mutual cooperation and coordination and to continue the implementation of their pact and agreements."
"They also reiterated their commitment to joint strategic fixed principles in the face of current and future challenges and in seeking to achieve a just and comprehensive peace," said the statement.
Assad declared on Saturday a two-phased pullout. "Syrian troops will completely pull back to Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon and then to the Syrian-Lebanese border," Assad said in a parliament address, but stopping short of a clear timetable.
The withdrawal would start "immediately" after the meeting, Lebanese Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Mrad said Sunday.
In Lebanon, Syrian army forces were seen to have started packing and leaving some mountain positions near Beirut.
A military convoy of seven trucks and two jeeps headed toward an area near the village of Bouarej on the main Beirut-Damascus highway linking the capital to Bekaa, a valley stretching along the borders with Syria.
The United States, a leading opponent of Syrian presence in Lebanon, dismissed the withdrawal plan just hours after the meeting, saying Syrians forces must pull out immediately.
"We want to see the complete withdrawal, no half measures, "White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, echoing Washington's repeated demand for a full and quick pullout of Syrian troops and intelligence services.
(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2005)
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