Saudis to Syria: Withdraw From Lebanon

Looks like Assad, Jr. is getting pressure from all sides. Now even the Saudi's are demanding Syria withdraw from Lebanon. My how the world has changed thanks to President Bush! - Sailor

Saudis to Syria: Withdraw From Lebanon
Mar 3, 1:13 PM (ET)
Associated Press
By SALAH NASRAWI


CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Saudi officials told Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday that he must soon begin fully withdrawing troops from Lebanon or face strains in Saudi-Syrian ties, an official said. Assad promised only to study the idea of a partial withdrawal by later this month.

The kingdom took a tough line as Assad met with the Saudi leader, Crown Prince Abdullah, and other officials in Riyadh. The strong language pointed to increasing impatience among Arab leaders with Damascus' resistance to calling a quick pullout.

Saudi officials told Assad the kingdom insists on the full withdrawal of all Syria's 15,000 troops and intelligence forces from Lebanon and wants it to start "soon," a Saudi official said on condition of anonymity.

Assad said he would study the possibility of a partial withdrawal before an Arab summit scheduled March 23 in Algeria and said he is doing all he can to resolve the problem but that not everything is up to him, the official said.


The Saudis replied that the situation was his problem and warned that if Damascus refuses to comply, it would lead to tensions in Saudi-Syrian ties, the official told The Associated Press, speaking by phone from Riyadh.

Damage in those relations would deepen Syria's isolation after its traditional allies Russia and France joined the United States and United Nations in demanding a full pullout. Saudi Arabia, a close ally of Washington, often presents Syria's point of view to U.S. officials.

In a further sign of impatience, the Saudis rejected a Syrian request that the upcoming summit officially ask Damascus to withdraw its forces, which would give any pullback an Arab endorsement, the official said.

Saudi Arabia is also said to be angry with Damascus over the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who also held Saudi citizenship and was close to the Saudi royal family. The Lebanese opposition has blamed Syria of involvement in the killing - an accusation Damascus denies - and has launched a series of protests that on Monday forced out Lebanon's pro-Syrian government.

During a flurry of behind-the-scenes diplomacy in recent days, Syria told Arab countries it needs to keep 3,000 troops in Lebanon "for the time being" - without giving a timetable - and to keep "early monitoring stations" in eastern Lebanon, an Arab diplomat in Cairo said Thursday.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt consider such Syrian terms unworkable, the Arab diplomat said.

The Syrian army already operates radar stations in Dahr el-Baidar, on mountain tops bordering Syria. Israeli warplanes have attacked the sites in the past.

The Syrians also have said they want a new, broader arrangement - including resuming peace talks with Israel - as part of any troop withdrawal from Lebanon. Syria wants Israelis to leave the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau they captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

While diplomats in private pressed Damascus to work quickly, Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Thursday publicly called on Damascus to follow through on the 1989 Taif accord, which calls for a redeployment of the Syrian forces to the border and eventually a full withdrawal. But they did not set a timetable.

"We all agreed to demand the implementation of the Taif Accord with respect to international legitimacy," Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem told reporters after the league meeting.

Under growing pressure, Damascus said last month it was willing to carry out the Taif accord and promised to move troops closer to its border, but hasn't yet done so. Assad has given varying estimates for the timing of a withdrawal, from less than two months to at least a year or not until Mideast peace is achieved.

Assad told Time magazine that the troops would be out "maybe in the next few months. Not after that." In a separate interview published Monday in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Assad said withdrawal would require "serious guarantees. In one word: peace."

The troops were originally deployed during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war - ostensibly as peacekeepers - and Syria has held sway over Lebanese politics ever since.

Notably absent from the Arab League meeting in Cairo were Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa and his Lebanese counterpart, Mahmoud Hammoud, who serves in a caretaker role with the rest of the pro-Syrian Lebanese government that resigned Monday.

The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, stopped by the Arab League but did not stay for the full meeting, heading instead to the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheik to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

A wave of anti-Syrian protests began at the funeral of former premier Rafik Hariri, whose Feb. 14 assassination was widely blamed on Syria and the Damascus-allied Lebanese government. Both governments deny any role.

The protests continued - larger, louder and bolder - until the Lebanese government resigned. Far fewer people have kept up the peaceful "independence uprising" in the past few days, shifting attention to political maneuvering.