WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday that Syria should respect Lebanon's sovereignty and open full diplomatic ties with Lebanon's government.

    "We discussed the need for Syria to respect Lebanon's sovereignty, to cease its support for terror, and to open full diplomatic relations with Lebanon's elected government," Bush said after his talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the White House.

    The United States has expressed concerns over Syria's troop movements along its border with Lebanon.

    Syria and Lebanon have not established diplomatic relations since their independence from the French colonial rule in the 1940s. Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005.