US: Partial withdrawal not enough 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addresses parliament in Damascus March 5, 2005. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday announced a plan to withdraw troops from Lebanon. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

Syrian President Bashar Assad waves to people from outside the parliament building on Saturday March 5, 2005 in Damascus, where he is to deliver a speech that is expected to announce the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

    DAMASCUS, March 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday announced a plan to withdraw troops from Lebanon.

    "Syrian troops will pull back to Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon and then to the Syrian-Lebanese border," Assad told the parliament in a speech delivered in Arabic.

    He said through the move, Syria will fulfill its commitment to the Taif Accord and implementing UN Security Council resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon.

    The Taif Accord ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

    The president said, however, the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon does not mean the absence of a Syrian role in Lebanon, and the influence of Syria over Lebanon does not depend on the deployment of troops.

    "Everybody has a view that the withdrawal is a problem, but this is the simplest thing. Syria does not reject the principal of withdrawal," he said.

    "We do not want to stay in Lebanon," he said, adding that Syrian troops have begun the pullback process.

    He also called for boosting bilateral ties through varying dimensions -- culture, the economy and education.

    Syria, a key power broker of Lebanon, has been mounting pressure to withdraw its 14,000 soldiers from Lebanon since the death of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri last month. Enditem

Syrians back President Assad on Lebanon

Syrians chant slogans as they voice their support for their President Bashar al-Assad near the parliament building in Damascus March 5, 2005.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Thousands of Syrian people stage a demonstration on Saturday before the Parliament building to support their President Bashar al-Assad on Lebanon issue,in Damascus, capital of Syria, March 5, 2005. Assad announced a gradual pullout from Lebanon during an address in the Parliament on Saturday,March 5, 2005. (Xinhua Photo)

   DAMASCUS, March 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of Syrians, chanting national anthem and waving national flags, gathered outside parliament in Damascus on Saturday to offer their enthusiastic support to President Bashar al-Assad as he announced a gradual pullback from Lebanon.

   "Syrian troops will completely pull back to Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon and then to the Syrian-Lebanese border," Assad announced in his speech, which were constantly interrupted by zealous applauds from law-makers.

   Watching Assad's speech live on two big screens temporarily set up for the occasion, the demonstrators echoed the parliamentarians' sentiment by chanting "one, one, one, Lebanon and Syria are one," claiming their solidarity with Lebanon.

   Syria and Lebanon have kept a close relationship for the past three decades since Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976 to intervene its 1975-90 civil war.

   As a key power-broker in Lebanon, Syria still maintains 14,000 troops there after several redeployment in recent years.

   But this special relation has been challenged since UN Security Council resolution 1559 was adopted last September at the initiative of the United States and France, demanding a pullout of foreign troops from Lebanon.

   "We feel reassured after the President's speech," an official from the defense ministry told Xinhua, who refused to be named.

   "To withdraw from Lebanon is a wise choice," he added, expressing dissatisfaction with the US intervention in the Syrian-Lebanese relation. 

   Washington was spearheading international pressure on Damascus to complete a quick and full withdrawal after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri on Feb. 14, and even threatened to seek UN sanctions on Syria.

   Syria, however, said it would not be destabilized in the face of foreign pressure.

   "Syria has various resources.  We can provide ourselves all we need and we are not afraid of blockage and sanctions," said a grocery boss, who named himself as Bahim.

   "We are not afraid of anything, as long as the people stand with us," Assad said.  Enditem