WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday cautioned Syria not to deepen its "own isolation" as Washington reiterated that Damascus should withdraw all its troops from Lebanese territory.
Rice spoke here after a Lebanese military source said earlier Friday that Syrian troops have completely withdrawn from all their positions in northern Lebanon and only the intelligence service offices have yet to be evacuated.
"I would hope that the Syrians would not continue to deepen their own isolation," Rice said, noting that several Arab states have also urged Syria to withdraw its forces from neighboring Lebanon.
"I would certainly hope that the Syrians are getting the message, that this is a completely different situation," Washington's chief diplomat said, referring in part to a UN Security Council resolution that also calls for a Syrian withdrawal.
Rice's remarks were supported by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
"(UN) Resolution 1559 says immediate and full withdrawal. That's what we are looking for.
We are looking for action from Syria. We are not looking for excuses or rhetoric," Boucher underlined.
The first phase of a Syrian redeployment, carried out in the face of burgeoning global and local pressure, began Tuesday and was to last a week to 10 days.
The pullback affects 6,000 troops stationed in northern Lebanon and the mountains overlooking Beirut and is seen as a prelude to the departure of all of Syria's estimated 14,000 soldiers from Lebanese territory.
Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976 to serve as a buffer force between warring Lebanese factions near the beginning of the country's 1975-1990 civil war.
03/11/2005 23:48 GMT