WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for holding "free and fair" presidential elections in Lebanon in a meeting Monday with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a State Department spokesman said.

The top US diplomat noted that "the Lebanese people have accomplished much over the past year: they've compelled Syrian troops to withdraw from Lebanon, and they've held free and fair parliamentary elections," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.

But there remained "other issues that need to be taken up," Casey said.

"And that includes free and fair presidential elections, as called for in Security Council Resolution 1559," he said.

The UN resolution forced the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and also requires other steps, including a presidential vote and the disarming of militias, designed to restore Lebanon's sovereignty.

Rice assured Jumblatt of US backing for the Lebanese government and the need for Syrian compliance with UN resolutions, Casey said.

"Part of the purpose of this meeting was to assure Mr Jumblatt of ongoing US support for the path of democracy and reform that's been enunciated by the Lebanese government," he said.

Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's second and final term was extended in 2004 under pressure from Damascus.

The political fate of Lahoud has divided the country. The main anti-Syrian alliance has given him until March 14 to step down and launched a petition to gather one million signatures of support.

The anti-Syrian bloc lacks the two-thirds majority required to get rid of Lahoud through constitutional means.

Asked about Lahoud after meeting Rice, Jumblatt said: "It's a Lebanese issue."

He added: "We are going to fix up how to remove him. Peacefully."

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