BEIRUT - The planned pullback of all Syrian troops in Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley may fall short of UN demands for a full withdrawal of foreign forces but it would mark completion of the first stage of a 16-year-old agreement.
The Taef accord between the two governments that paved the way for the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war stipulated any Syrian pullout would begin with a redeployment to the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon bordering Syria.
In principle, the 1989 deal foresaw that pullback beginning after a two-year transition period but the small print left any redeployment subject to the agreement of the Beirut and Damascus governments.
After the interim period, the agreement specifies "the two governments ... shall decide to redeploy the Syrian forces in the Bekaa ... and if necessary, at other points to be determined by a joint Lebanese-Syrian military committee".
The text also lays down no specific timetable for a final pullout from the Bekaa.
"An agreement shall also be concluded by the two governments to determine the strength and duration of the presence of Syrian forces in the above-mentioned area," the text says.
Ever since the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1559 last September demanding the withdrawal off all foreign forces, the two governments have justified their non-compliance on the basis of the Taef accord.
Five redeployments have taken place since June 2001, which have seen Syrian troop numbers fall from a 1989 high of 40,000 to some 14,000 now.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 Syrian troops are currently deployed outside the Bekaa, most of them around military intelligence headquarters in the capital or in the main northern city of Tripoli.
In a rare address to parliament Saturday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said: "As an extension of measures already taken ... we will withdraw our forces stationed in Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley and then to the border".
On Monday, Assad met his Lebanese counterpart Emile Lahoud for a Damascus summit that he said would "approve the withdrawal plan".
The Syrian president's announcement relieved some of the international pressure but France and the United States, which co-sponsored Resolution 1559, said it did not go far enough.
White House director of communications Dan Bartlett said Assad's undertakings so far were "half-hearted" and in "complete contradiction" with the UN text.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Assad's pledge was important but warned that "we expect to see precise and concrete acts".
03/07/2005 12:28 GMT