NICOSIA Ñ The United States appears to have shelved efforts to pressure Lebanon and Syria to act against Hizbullah.

Administration sources said the State Department and the White House have agreed that significant pressure on Lebanon or Syria would divert from the military offensive in Afghanistan. The sources said Arab allies of the United States as well as France and Russia are opposed to a U.S. campaign against Hizbullah.

Last week, the Beirut government rejected a U.S. demand to freeze assets of groups deemed as terrorists by Washington. Lebanese government leaders said they regard Hizbullah and Palestinian insurgency groups as conducting what they termed a legitimate war of liberation against Israel.

Administration sources said the State Department had little stomach for a confrontation with Lebanon or Syria regarding Hizbullah. They said the U.S. appeals to Lebanon for a crackdown on Hizbullah were meant to assuage the Congress and Israel.

Publicly, administration officials said pressure would be increased on Beirut. "Lebanon's endeavors to shore up its economy and upgrade its integration into the world's economic globalization will be affected adversely if it fails to cooperate with the American demands," U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said. "This integration is a precondition for Lebanon to stay alive."

Lebanon's banking system represents a leading source of revenue in the country.

At one point, the sources said, Lebanon feared that Washington would ban Lebanese banks from doing business in the United States. They said such a prospect does not appear likely in the short-term.

Lebanese officials agreed that Washington has not threatened to hurt Beirut's economic interests. They said Lebanon had obtained support from such countries as Egypt, France, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

"There is no pressure or fear in Lebanon because we are not in confrontation with the United States," Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said.

Earlier, U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Vincent Battle stressed that the dispute over Hizbullah will play a major role in relations with Beirut.

Battle dismissed Lebanon's assertion that an investigation of the 1983 Hizbullah attack on U.S. Marines would be futile.

"We have heard from some officials here in Lebanon that it's not the time to open old files," Battle told the Lebanese Future Television, a channel owned by Hariri. "My response to that is that, quiet frankly, the files have never been closed. The files are indeed open and so this discussion, I think, will be a long and important one."

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