| France wants concrete
steps from Syria on Lebanon: PM PARIS, Jan
29 (AFP) - France wants Syria to take concrete steps to remove its troops from neighboring
Lebanon as called for by the United Nations in order to avoid international isolation,
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said.
"Dialog with Syria should be continued. We are ready to make our contribution to
implementing (UN) Resolution 1559," he said in an interview with the Tunisian daily
Ach-Chourouq, the transcript of which was released in Paris on Saturday.
The UN Security Council, pushed by France and the United States, passed the resolution
last September calling for an end to foreign interference in Lebanon and withdrawal of
foreign troops.
Syria is now believed to have around 14,000 stationed in Lebanon, the remnants of a much
larger force that was sent in during the country's 1975-1990 civil war.
Syria quickly rejected the demand, as did the Syrian-backed government in Beirut.
Raffarin said: "We are waiting for concrete steps from Syria showing its intention to
respect international law. It's not a matter of isolating or separating this or that
country, but allowing Lebanon to regain its national sovereignty and its territorial
integrity." |
