U-S says Syria not going far enough in pledge to withdraw troops from Lebanon
STATE DEPARTMENT The U-S is criticizing Syria's president for announcing only a partial pullback of his troops from Lebanon. The State Department says the move "is not enough" and that "when the United States and France say withdraw, we mean complete withdrawal _ no half-hearted measures."
Bush has said that anything less than a complete withdrawal of Syrian troops would be unacceptable. France, Britain, Germany and Saudi Arabia have made the same demand.
However, in his speech to Syria's parliament, President Bashar Assad (bah-SHAHR' AH'-sahd) left unclear whether Syrian forces would eventually leave Lebanon or be kept inside the country near the Syrian frontier. He says Syrian and Lebanese authorities would negotiate this week.
The Lebanese people are sharply divided over the presence of Syria's soldiers. Massive protests in past weeks have demanded Syria's withdrawal and led to the resignation of the pro-Syrian government last week.
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