Seeking Arab Cover, Syria to Quit Lebanon

“It (withdrawal) should be very soon and maybe in the next few months. Not after that,” Assad said during an interview with the American Time magazine Tuesday, March 1.

Following the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, Syria has been coming under mounting international pressure, especially from the United States and France, to withdraw its 14,000-strong forces from Lebanon.

The Syrian leader, however, did not give a definite timetable on the Syrian military withdrawal, saying it depended on technical rather than political considerations, Reuters reported.

“I could not say we could do it in two months because I have not had the meeting with the army people. They may say it will take six months,” he said.

“You need to prepare when you bring your army back to your country. You need to prepare where you will put the troops.”

Discussing means of maintaining security in Lebanon and protection of the Syrian borders must be put into consideration before the Syrian military withdrawal from the Arab country, Assad stressed.

“There are two factors. The first is security in Lebanon. The security in Lebanon is much better than before. They have an army, they have a state, they have institutions.

“The second thing, which is related to Syria, is that after withdrawing we have to protect our border. We need to talk about our borders, because when Israel invaded (Lebanon) in 1982, they reached that point. It was very close to Damascus. So we will need [fortifications for the troops] along the border with Lebanon.”

Diplomatic Efforts

Within the same context, Syria has been holding intensive diplomatic talks with its Arab allies, who are at the same time allies of the United States, to defuse international pressures on Damascus to pull out troops from Lebanon.

On Thursday, Assad is due to hold talks with Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz in Riyadh to discuss means of alleviating the international pressure on the Arab country and means of easing tension between Damascus and Washington.

Assad is also expected to hold talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Damascus following his return from Riyadh, Syrian official sources told IOL.

Meanwhile, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani arrived in Damascus Wednesday, March 2, for talks with senior Syrian officials.

“The surprise visit of the Qatari emir will focus on the situation in the Arab world, especially in Lebanon, and means of reaching a compromise on withdrawing the Syrian forces from Lebanon in accordance with the Taif agreement and UN Security Council resolution 1559,” Qatari diplomatic sources told IOL.

A senior Arab official told IslamOnline.net February 21, that some Arab countries, especially Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, fearing a recurrence of the Iraqi scenario, are intensively moving on various levels to spare Syria the predicament Iraq’s Saddam faced that eventually led to the invasion-turned-occupation of the Arab country.

The official stressed that the efforts aim at “defusing the current growing tension between Washington and Damascus through an acceptable formula under which Syrian forces could pull out.

Arab Cover

The Syrian diplomatic moves are also aimed at seeking an Arab cover, especially from Arab allies of the United States, for its military pullout from Lebanon, analysts and diplomats said.

“There is a drive to secure an Arab cover for the situation,” prominent Syrian political analyst Imad Al-Shuaibi told Reuters.

“Syria is directing its effort into preventing the situation from becoming an international matter,” he stressed.

Earlier this week, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq Al-Shara held talks with senior Egyptian and Saudi officials, apparently in a bid to offset US pressures on the Arab country to withdraw troops from Lebanon.

An Arab diplomat said that it was normal for Syria to seek cooperation with its traditional Arab allies to deflate tension between Damascus and Washington.

“It seems Syria wants an easier way out … a compromise of some sort under an Arab umbrella,” the diplomat said.

“They appear more convinced that they should comply with resolution 1559 but maybe they want to dress it with an Arab cover.”

That cover, the Arab diplomat said, could be in the guise of the Taif Accord that ended Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, under which Syrian troops, which poured into Lebanon during the war, were to redeploy to the eastern Bekaa valley.

The 1989 Taif Accord provides for “the two governments to determine the strength and duration of the presence of the Syrian forces” but does not set a specific deadline for a Syrian withdrawal.