Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) talks with visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati in Damascus, May 4. Mikati is on his first visit to Syria since taking office last month. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

     DAMASCUS, May 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati said here Wednesday that Lebanon and Syria have agreed to review bilateral ties following Syria's pullout.

    Mikati, on his first visit to Syria since taking office last month, announced the agreement to reporters after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri.

    "We discussed ways of uplifting this relationship to better serve the interests of both peoples," Mikati told the reporters.

    A joint statement released after the talks also said the two sides agreed to re-evaluate bilateral agreements and papers of evaluation for all accords should be prepared by each side and a common committee would be formed to handle the re-evaluation.

    Syria and Lebanon signed a series of accords, including a 1991 treaty of friendship and cooperation, which provides for close coordination in the political, economic and security fields.

    Mikati, meanwhile, confirmed all Syrian troops had returned to Syria, denying reports that some Syrian soldiers still remained on the Lebanese side of the border.

    He said the site where some Syrian soldiers are stationed now ison the Syrian soil and near the Lebanese border.

    Syria said late last month that it had fully withdrawn forces from Lebanon ahead of a planned deadline as of April 30 in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for a complete withdrawal of foreign forces in Lebanon.

    A new probe would be conducted into the plight of Lebanese prisoners held in Syria, Mikati added.

    According to non-governmental organizations, some 440 Lebanese have disappeared or been detained in Syria.

    The problem has become a hot issue since the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri on Feb. 14, which the Lebaneseopposition blamed Damascus for a part.

    Mikati said his talks with Assad also covered Syrian workers in Lebanon, adding that a border office would be set up for workers registration.

    Many Syrian workers have fled Lebanon since the assassination ofHariri after several incidents of beatings and racist harassment.

    The joint statement also said the two sides agreed to carry out investigations into such attacks and seek possible compensations. Enditem¡¡

All Syrian troops withdrawn from Lebanon: Mikati

   DAMASCUS, May 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati confirmed Wednesday that all Syrian troops had returned to Syria, denying reports that some Syrian soldiers still remained on the Lebanese side of the border. 

   Mikati, on his first visit to Syria since taking office last month, made the remarks after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri.

   Mikati's confirmation came in response to an Arab satellite TV footage showing a Syrian border post near a village in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The channel said Syrian troops were still present in Lebanon.

   The post, near the village of Deir al-Ashayier, was established in 1976 when Syria sent troops into Lebanon to intervene in the country's 1975-1990 civil war. 

   Some Lebanese said the post was within Lebanese borders, while others claimed it was inside Syria.

   Mikati said the site where the Syrian soldiers are stationed now is on the Syrian soil and near the Lebanese border.

   Syria's official SANA news agency said Tuesday that a joint Syrian-Lebanese committee including officers and topography experts would look into this issue.

   Syria said on April 26 that it had fully withdrawn its 14,000 troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon ahead of the self-imposed April 30 deadline in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution 1559 calling for all foreign troops to quit Lebanon.

   Syria has been under mounting international pressure to pull out its troops from Lebanon since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14 in a car bomb explosion in Beirut.

   Lebanese opposition accused Syria and Lebanese security forces of involving in Hariri's killing. Damascus denied the charge. Enditem