World Tribune.com

UN's Annan denies giving Syria
a deadline to withdraw

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Sunday, February 27, 2005

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.


Copyright © 2005 East West Services, Inc.

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