KUWAIT CITY, 8 June 2004 — Syrian troops will not withdraw from neighboring Lebanon before a final Mideast peace settlement is reached and Israel is no longer a threat, President Bashar Assad said in comments published yesterday.
“The (pullout) issue consists of stages. The first relates to the Taif agreement which has been implemented. The other is subject to a Lebanese-Syrian agreement, regional developments ... and the issue of peace,” in the Middle East, Assad told Al-Qabas daily in an interview. He said Syrian troops were mainly in the Bekaa Valley along with the Lebanese Army to ward off any Israeli attack, which could put Damascus at risk.
“We are no longer present in the Lebanese interior. There are no Syrian troops inside the Lebanese cities,” Assad said.
“The presence of Syrian troops is temporary and not at all permanent ... We talk about a strong and independent Lebanon. We recognize its independence ... and we always concentrate on Lebanese sovereignty,” he said.
Syria has an estimated 20,000 troops stationed in Lebanon. Damascus is also closely linked to the Lebanese group Hezbollah based in southern Lebanon.
The United States and several European countries have been pressing Damascus to withdraw from Lebanon and the US Congress has passed the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act, which calls on Syria to end what it terms the occupation of Lebanon.
