The United Nations has emphasized that it has not set a
deadline for a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
A spokesman said UN secretary general Kofi Annan has called for a Syrian
troop withdrawal from Lebanon. But spokesman Fred Eckhard said that
contrary to published reports Annan did not set an April 2005 deadline.
"The secretary-general never set an April deadline for a withdrawal nor
did he support sanctions if the pullout didn't happen by then," Eckhard
said, Middle East Newsline reported.
Earlier, Annan was said to have asserted that he would report to the
Security Council in April unless Syrian withdrew all of its troops from
Lebanon. Syria was said to have about 14,000 troops in Lebanon.
"If it's partial withdrawal, I will have to report," Annan was quoted as
saying to the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television. "If it's total withdrawal,
I will have to report."
"I would urge them to do everything possible to comply so that I can
report to the council that they have satisfactorily performed and therefore
we wouldn't need to go for additional measures," Annan added. "But of
course, if they do not
perform, the council may wish to take additional measures."
Syria has said it would continue to redeploy troops in 2005. But
officials did not indicate that Damascus would order a complete withdrawal.
"The important withdrawals that have been implemented so far, and those
that will follow will be carried out in agreement with Lebanon based on the
1989 Taif Accord and the mechanism it contains," Syrian Foreign Minster
Deputy Walid Mualem said.
The Taif accord, approved by the Arab League, calls for the withdrawal
of all foreign troops from Lebanon. Both Iran and Syria have military
personnel in Lebanon.
Earlier, Lebanese Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Murad said there would be
no full or immediate Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon. Murad said Lebanon
still required Syrian troops for the nation's stability, but that the two
countries were discussing a Syrian pullback to the Bekaa Valley.
"A decision has been made for Syrian troops to pull back from Lebanon's
coast and mountains toward the Syrian border in Bekaa but we cannot give any
timeline," Murad said. "We cannot create a security vacuum."
In another development, the United Nations has sent a team to Beirut to
investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb.
14. The five-member UN team has been led by Irish Deputy Police Commissioner
Peter Fitzgerald.