WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush said he was proud of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, praising his tenacity in resisting "enormous pressure" from Syria and Hezbollah.

Bush digressed from a critique of Damascus and Iran during a year-end news conference to pour special praise on Siniora, who is struggling to shore up his government in the grip of a political crisis.

"Let me step back: I'm proud of Prime Minister Siniora," Bush said.

"He has shown tenacity, toughness in the face of enormous pressure from Syria as well as Hezbollah, which is funded by Iran," Bush said.

The United States has staunchly supported the Siniora government, though ties were frayed earlier this year by the US refusal to condemn Israel for its tactics in the war in Lebanon against Hezbollah.

In an interview with AFP last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced deep concern that Syria and Iran were moving to topple the Lebanese government.

The Hezbollah-led Lebanese opposition has stepped up its campaign against Siniora's cabinet, calling for early parliamentary elections under a new electoral law.

Previously, the opposition had merely demanded the cabinet make way for a government of national unity. -AFP