CAIRO, Sept. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Arab League chief Amr Moussa on Wednesday rapped the United Nations for its resolution on Syria and Lebanon.

    Speaking to reports after a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Moussa said that the United Nations Security Council should tackle main issues on maintaining international peace andsecurity.

    "However, the council has not tackled Mideast crises, including what is going on in the Palestinian territories," Moussa said, referring to a recent UN resolution on Syria and Lebanon."Such double standards raise many questions about the role ofthe council," he said.

    On Sept. 3, Lebanon rejected a UN Security Council resolution demanding respect of the country's political independence and Syrian forces' withdrawal from it.

    "This resolution is misplaced since it goes against the principles of non-interference in internal affairs," Foreign Minster Jean Obeid said in a statement.

    The resolution was adopted by the UN Security Council one day earlier.

    The United States, which accuses Syria of exerting too much influence over extending incumbent President Lahoud's six-year term, had circulated a draft resolution to other Security Council members on Wednesday, demanding respect for Lebanon's sovereignty and a withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.

    Syria sent troops to help quell a year-old civil war in Lebanon in 1976 and they remained through 14 years of fighting and are still in the country.

    Lebanon's government has repeatedly said that the presence ofthe Syrian army has been a stabilizing factor since the 1975-90 civil war. Enditem