UNITED NATIONS, March 17 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expects full withdrawal of all Syrian forces and assets from Lebanon by elections scheduled from mid-April to mid-May.
Chief U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard Thursday read a statement to reporters at U.N. World Headquarters in New York after Annan was briefed by Terje Roed Larsen, his special envoy for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559 calling for Syria's withdrawal, who just returned from meetings in Europe, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
The envoy detailed an understanding he reached with Syrian President Bashar Assad last Saturday in Aleppo, Syria, the statement said.
"The secretary-general said that he expects the full withdrawal of all Syrian troops, including the intelligence apparatus and military assets to take place before the Lebanese parliamentary elections," Eckhard said. "The secretary-general further stressed the great importance that these elections be free and fair and take place as scheduled."
Roed Larsen later cited to reporters concern for Lebanon's sovereignty, adding: "For symbolic reasons, and maybe other reasons, it is important for the Lebanese that the presence of armed forces and intelligence apparatus is not there during the election period."
