LONDON - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labelled Syria a "barrier" to democracy in the Middle East, accusing it in an interview to be broadcast late on Tuesday of backing insurgencies in several countries.
"Syrian policies and Syrian behavior are barriers to a better life and a more democratic future for the people of the Middle East," Rice said in an interview with Britain's ITV news television.
"When the Syrians support insurgents, or allow their territory to be used for insurgents, they are frustrating the aspirations of the Iraqi people. When the Syrians allow their troops and their security forces to operate in Lebanon, they are frustrating the aspirations of those Lebanese people...
"When the Syrians support, from their territory and with their activities, terrorist groups who carry out bombings in the Holy Land, they are frustrating the aspirations of the Palestinian people."
Rice and her French counterpart Michel Barnier called on Tuesday for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
"We fully support the Lebanese people in their pursuit of an independent, democratic and sovereign Lebanon, free of outside interference and intimidation," they said in a joint statement on the sidelines of a meeting on Palestinian reforms in London.
Seen to be seizing the opportunity arising from the dramatic collapse of the pro-Syrian government in Lebanon in the face of mass public protests, the foreign ministers pushed for internationally-observed elections within the first half of this year.
The two countries sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 1559 passed last year which calls for an end to foreign interference in Lebanon and a withdrawal of foreign troops although it stops short of mentioning Syria.
US pressure on Damascus has increased following the murder two weeks ago of five-time prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
When asked by ITV how far Washington would go in its measures against Syria, Rice said Damascus was up against the international community.
"Let's remember that the kind of pressure that the (UN) Security Council and the international community can bring to bear, is very important for the Syrians, who I do not believe want to be as isolated as they are now," she said.
"The Syrians should recognize they are the destabilizing factor right now in the Middle East and they're isolated. I think we're doing actually very well with the international community bringing the kind of pressure on Syria."
03/01/2005 18:30 GMT