DAMASCUS, 4 April 2005 — Syria has pledged to have all its troops and military intelligence personnel withdrawn from Lebanon by the end of this month, fulfilling its commitment to implement a Security Council resolution, UN special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen confirmed yesterday.

At a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara here yesterday, Roed-Larsen confirmed that the Syrian government has shown absolute support and cooperation to make his mission in implementing Security Council Resolution 1559 a full success.

“I have had very cordial, practical, and constructive meetings with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Farouk Shara who have confirmed to me that all Syrian troops, military assets, and intelligence apparatus will have withdrawn fully and completely by April 30, 2005,” Roed-Larsen said.

Lebanese opposition figures hailed the announcement, which fulfilled one of their key demands.

“The declaration... is a decisive positive development in the Lebanese crisis,” opposition member of Parliament Nassib Lahoud said. “We hope that it opens a new chapter in the Lebanese-Syrian relations marked by the highest level of cooperation between two independent states.”

Large opposition protests in recent weeks in Beirut have demanded the end of Syria’s role in Lebanon. Shara voiced support for the elections, which he said should be held “at the time agreed among the Lebanese”.

Dozens of Syrian military trucks and some tanks on transporters rolled out of Lebanon yesterday, witnesses said. They said troops had evacuated seven positions in and round the village of Anjar close to the border. But the Syrian intelligence headquarters in the village and a large army base in an ancient castle were still manned by Syrian personnel.

Roed-Larsen said that the completion of the pullout of all Syrian troops from Lebanon would be “consistent” with Security Council Resolution 1559 and the Taif Accord signed by the various warring Lebanese parties and factions in 1989 ending the 1975-90 civil war in their country.

“The Syrian government has agreed with me that, subject to the acceptance by the Lebanese authorities, a verification team will be dispatched in order to verify the full withdrawal of all the Syrian troops from Lebanon,” the UN envoy stressed.

Addressing the conference, which started some 95 minute later than scheduled, Shara said: “The reason behind the delay of this conference was for sure quite positive. We have reached a historic agreement with the UN represented by Roed-Larsen to have all our forces pulled back from Lebanon. By completing our troop withdrawal, we will have fully implemented the UN Security Council Resolution 1559.”

The Security Council passed its resolution number 1559 in September last year demanding that “all foreign troops should leave Lebanon” for the country to be able to restore its sovereignty over the whole of its territory and organize its free parliamentary elections scheduled for May this year.

Shara stressed that his country’s relations with Lebanon would be even stronger after Syria fully pulls back its troops. “Relations between Syria and Lebanon have been built on strong national and ethnic bases which cannot be erased simply by the withdrawal of our troops,” Shara said, adding that the security of both countries was closely linked.

The minister stressed that Syria would provide all possible support to enable the Lebanese people to hold their legislative polls as scheduled before the end of next month.

International pressure piled on Damascus after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive bomb blast in Beirut on Feb. 14.

The Lebanese opposition, supported by the US and French governments, blamed Syria for Hariri’s killing, a charge that was strongly denied by Syria.

Damascus has already withdrawn almost half of its 14,000 troops from Lebanon following Hariri’s assassination which sparked street protests in Beirut. The remaining forces, estimated around 7,000, have been redeployed in eastern Bekaa Valley.

The Pro-Syrian Lebanese government and parties expressed fears that a fast arbitrary withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon would jeopardize security and stability in their country. A chain of bombings in various parts of Beirut over the past two weeks has legitimized their worries and fears.

In his remarks, Roed-Larsen also stressed that the implementation of the UN resolution should proceed in a way that ensures the stability and unity of both Syria and Lebanon.

— With input from agencies