The U.N. Security Council again urged Syria Tuesday to withdraw its 15,000 troops from Lebanon and asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to report on progress in an apparent effort to keep pressure on Damascus. Lebanon and Syria dismissed the statement as "illegal interference" by the council in the internal affairs of the two Arab countries. But the United States and France drew up a policy statement read at a formal meeting to bolster a Sept. 2 resolution demanding all foreign troops leave Lebanon. It calls for reports from Annan every six months.

The story was the main story in most Lebanese newspapers on Wednesday. Syria ruled out a quick withdrawal of its troops, saying the U.N. resolution was illegal. Lebanon said the council's action interfered in its internal affairs. The issue was controversial this week because a statement requires the consent of all 15 council members. Algeria, the only Arab member of the council, hesitated until the last minute on the statement that never mentioned Syria by name.

Should Algeria have refused, the United States and France planned to adopt a resolution asking for more frequent reports from Annan that might have produced abstentions from Algeria, Pakistan and others. The Sept. 2 resolution was adopted by a minimum of nine votes and six abstentions. "We are quite pleased that this was a unanimous strong decision of the Security Council," said U.S. deputy ambassador, Anne Patterson. "It is important to remember ... that Syria cease interference in Lebanon's internal affairs, disarm militias and remove Syrian troops from Lebanon."

Lebanon's Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares denounced the statement, the resolution and Annan's reports as foreign meddling themselves, "in contravention of the U.N. charter." The council's statement notes "with concern" that the requirements of the Sept. 2 resolution were not met and urged full implementation of its provisions. Syria has maintained political control over Lebanon since it intervened in 1976, at Beirut's request, to quell a civil war.

Some newspapers noted that the elimination of Syria's name from the statement was a "positive sign", an indirect acknowledgement by the council that other foreign forces (Israeli) occupy parts of Lebanese territory. But a report by leftist AS SAFIR from Washington predicted that the U.N. might approve tougher actions against Syria when the United States takes over the chair of the security council next month and the renewal of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon comes up.

Annan's last report said Syria had neither complied with the Sept. 2 resolution nor given any timetable for doing so. It also said Lebanon had not disarmed militias, a reference to Hizbullah and Palestinian groups, as called for by the resolution. But Syria's U.N. ambassador, Fayssal Mekdad, accused the council of double standards in ignoring Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip. "This shows how vile those champions are and the way they are misusing the council for their own purposes."

"Illegal Intervention"

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, speaking during a visit to European Union headquarters in Brussels, denounced the U.N. resolution as "illegal intervention in Syrian-Lebanese bilateral relations." "Our position remains as it was. We think 1559 is illegal intervention in Syrian-Lebanese bilateral relations," Sharaa said at a ceremony to initial an important trade and political agreement with the European Union. "We think a better understanding of the situation that exists between Syria and Lebanon perhaps will pave the way for our friends in the Security Council to understand how deep the relationship is between Syria and Lebanon," he said.

Sharaa added that Damascus would continue to respect the Taif Accord, a 1989 agreement which ended the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, and which requires that the country's security be handed to Lebanese institutions. "We are committed to the Taif Accord and we will continue to implement all the provisions of this agreement." EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said that while EU-Syrian relations were improving in many areas, there were still plenty of disagreements. "Today's statement in New York ... is the most obvious," he said.

Lebanon and Syria defend Hizbullah -- a main force in ending Israel's 22-year occupation of South Lebanon in 2000 - as legitimate resistance to Israel, which they say continues to occupy Lebanese land in the disputed Shabaa Farms border zone. The United Nations says the Shabaa Farms area on the Lebanese-Syrian border is part of Syria.