UN envoy seeking withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon holds talks in Beirut

Secretary-General Kofi Annan's newly appointed envoy seeking the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon conferred with Lebanese leaders today on the estimated 14,000 troops which Syria still has on its smaller neighbour's soil.

Terje Roed-Larsen, who earlier in the week met with Syrian officials in Damascus, "is confident that positive results can be expected in the course of his assignment," a UN spokesman said in New York.

Mr. Roed-Larsen met with President Emile Lahoud to whom he delivered a letter from Mr. Annan on implementing Security Council resolution 1559, which was adopted in September and called for the withdrawal of all remaining foreign forces from Lebanon, disbanding all militias and extending Government control over the whole country.

He also held separate discussions with Prime Minister Omar Karami, Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud, Speaker Nabih Berri and other government officials.

Mr. Roed-Larsen's talks have been held in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation, the spokesman said.

In an initial report in October on resolution 1559, Mr. Annan said that aside from a UN peacekeeping force, the only significant foreign forces in Lebanon were Syrian. He said Syria indicated it had some 14,000 troops still inside Lebanon stationed near the border, and that it had redeployed about 3,000 other forces.

The Secretary-General reported that both governments said the timing of further withdrawals would be determined by the security situation in Lebanon and the region and they could not provide a schedule for such action.