UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (UPI) -- The U.N. envoy seeking withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon has stopped on his way to the region to meet with European officials.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559 calling for withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon, disbanding all militias and extending authority of the Beirut government over the whole country stopped in Brussels Tuesday, a spokesman at U.N. World Headquarters in New York said.
The envoy, Terje Roed Larsen, discussed his mission to rid Lebanon of some 14,000 Syrian soldiers with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and promised to brief him on his return. Larsen also met with the EU's Policy and Security Committee, consisting of the permanent representatives of the 25 member states, who assured him of full EU backing for his mission.
He last visited Lebanon and Damascus last month, his first trip in the new job he assumed in January after serving as U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. Since then, the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has increased tension in the area.
