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Bush chirac call for syrian troop withdrawal Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=aaQ0S2xpZ6eA&refer=europehttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=aaQ0S2xpZ6eA&refer=europe
Bush, Chirac Call for Withdrawal of Syrian Troops From Lebanon
Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac, meeting in Brussels before European Union and NATO summit talks tomorrow, called for Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon.
``We urge full and immediate implementation'' of a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon, the two leaders said in a statement. ``We have the same approach to the situation which is prevailing in Lebanon,'' Chirac said before a dinner with Bush.
Tensions between Lebanon and Syria rose after former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was killed in a Feb. 14 bomb attack. Accusing its own government and Syria of playing a role in the killing, Lebanon's opposition called for Syria to pull all its troops out. Both governments deny any involvement.
Chirac was one of Europe's most vocal critics of the U.S.- led war that toppled Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq in 2003. Since Bush began his second term in January, he's said repeatedly he wants to improve relations with Europe.
Chirac, for his part, offered help in training Iraqi police officers on Jan. 31, the day after more than 8 million voters turned out in Iraq's interim elections. The statement on Lebanon provided an opportunity for Bush and Chirac to show they're working together to calm trouble spots in the Middle East.
Lebanon
While the statement didn't mention Syria by name, Bush was more direct in a speech earlier today. ``Just as the Syrian regime must take stronger action to stop those who support violence and subversion in Iraq, it must end its support for terrorist groups seeking to destroy the hope of peace between Israelis and Palestinians,'' Bush told a European audience in Brussels. ``Syria must also end its occupation of Lebanon.''
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, meeting in Damascus with Arab League chief Hossam Zaki, ``gave assurances'' that he's willing to carry out an agreement that ended the Lebanese civil war and ``go ahead with a Syrian withdrawal'' in accordance with that accord, Arab League spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a telephone interview from Cairo.
In Beirut today, tens of thousands of opposition supporters shouted insults at Syria and demanded the resignation of Lebanon's pro-Syrian government, the Associated Press reported. The protest was the largest and loudest since the end of Lebanon's civil war in 1990, AP reported.
Syrian Occupation
Syria sent soldiers into Lebanon as part of an Arab peacekeeping force in 1976 after the civil war broke out between Muslims and Christians. Troop numbers rose as high as 30,000.
There have been partial pullouts since then and 13,000 soldiers remain in the country, according to Imad Moustapha, Syria's ambassador to the U.S. Syrian intelligence officials are also stationed in Beirut, Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblatt, a leading opposition figure and head of the Druze community, said in a Feb. 18 interview with al-Jazeera.
Chirac praised Hariri as a ``a man who enshrined the ideals of democracy, independence and liberty of that country.''
``Lebanon's forthcoming parliamentary elections can mark another milestone in Lebanon's return to independence and democracy if they are free and fair, conducted without outside interference and guaranteed by international observers,'' Bush and Chirac said in their statement.
During their closed-door meeting, Bush expressed concern about the European Union's plan to lift a 15-year-old arms embargo on China, a U.S. official told reporters. Bush and Chirac also discussed intensifying U.S. involvement with France, Britain and Germany in the Europeans' talks with Iran about forgoing nuclear weapons, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Iran Nuclear Ambitions
While the Europeans and the U.S. agree on preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power, the U.S. has refused to join talks with Iran, and Bush hasn't ruled out the possibility of military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Chirac stressed that Iran must renounce any nuclear weapons ambitions and told Bush the three European countries ``need the support of their partners so this dialogue can have a chance to succeed,'' French spokesman Jerome Bonnafont, who attended the dinner, told reporters.
Both sides described the talks as friendly.
``This is my first dinner since I've been re-elected on European soil and it's with Jacques Chirac and that ought to say something,'' Bush told reporters before the dinner. ``It ought to say how important this relationship is for me, personally, and how important this relationship is for my country.''
`Good Cowboy'
Asked by a reporter whether he'd invite Chirac to his ranch in Texas, Bush said with a smile, ``I'm looking for a good cowboy.''
Chirac has told Iraqi officials that training of police officers may take place either in France or in the Middle East or Africa. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, another opponent of the war, has his troops training Iraqi soldiers in the United Arab Emirates.
While France voted for a UN Security Council resolution ordering Hussein to turn over chemical and biological arms or face ``serious consequences,'' Chirac wanted international inspectors to have more time to hunt for banned weapons.
No stockpiles of such weapons were found in Iraq. David Kay, the former chief U.S. weapons inspector, told Congress in January 2004 that the U.S. relied on faulty intelligence before the war.
More than 1,400 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since the war began; about 150,000 of the 175,000 soldiers in Iraq are Americans.
Bush, in his speech in Brussels today, said the dispute with Europeans over Iraq is a ``passing disagreement.''
Last Updated: February 21, 2005 17:21 EST
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