UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 (AFP) - France has called for a UN Security Council vote on Tuesday on a resolution that would turn up the pressure on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, where it is the main power broker.
Diplomats said the resolution could still be scrapped if the council is able to reach consensus, elusive so far, on a council statement that would require all 15 nations to agree.
But Algeria, the lone Arab nation on the council, has led opposition to the statement.
The resolution, co-sponsored by France and the United States, calls on Syria to comply with an earlier council resolution demanding that Damascus pull its troops out of its smaller neighbour.
The draft resolution "urges relevant parties to implement fully" the earlier resolution, which only squeaked through the council with the minimum nine votes needed -- and six abstentions.
It also asks Annan to report back to the council every three months on the state of Syrian compliance. The reporting period could be changed, council diplomats told AFP.
Statements are somewhat softer than council resolutions, which are legally binding on the UN's 191 member nations.
The draft was proposed last week after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reported that Syria had not complied with the September resolution to pull its roughly 14,000 troops.
Those soldiers are a holdover from a larger contingent sent in during Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
In his report, Annan said that both Beirut and Damascus had indicated that the Syrian troops were on the ground "at the invitation of Lebanon and that their presence is therefore by mutual agreement."
The September resolution came as the Lebanese parliament adopted a constitutional amendment allowing Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a Syrian protege, to remain in office for an extra term.
Both Lebanon and Syria have repeatedly denied any interference by Damascus in its neighbour's internal affairs, including in the decision to keep Lahoud in office.