Straw statement on withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon – UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office press release/Non-UN document

SYRIA – JACK STRAW STATEMENT ON WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS FROM LEBANON (05/03/05)

Jack Straw commented today:

'I was glad to hear the news that, as a first step, President Assad has announced that Syria will move to implement the Taif Accord and Syria will withdraw troops to the Beka'a. A joint Lebanese-Syrian committee will work on the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon and they need to take into account the views of the people of Lebanon. This needs to happen as quickly as possible. As I called for yesterday we expect to see rapid progress to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from the whole of Lebanon in line with UNSCR 1559.'