Syria said yesterday it was keen to co-operate with the United Nations to implement a resolution requiring the Arab state to pull its troops out of Lebanon.

"Syria expresses its keen interest in co-operating with the envoy of the secretary-general of the United Nations to accomplish his mission in the best formula possible," Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed al-Mualem told reporters.

He said a troop withdrawal would first require stronger Lebanese security forces.

"The important withdrawals that have been carried out so far and will be carried out later will be done in agreement with Lebanon against the backdrop of the Taif Accord and the mechanisms it entails," he said.

US President George W. Bush demanded on Wednesday that Syria pull its security services as well as its army from Lebanon, echoing France's remarks that Syrian intelligence controlled the country.

But Bush, in the middle of a European tour to strengthen relations in the continent, said before seeking UN sanctions, Washington would see how Syria responded to international clamour for it to quit Lebanon, which has grown louder since a massive bomb killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri last week.

"We will see how they (the Syrians) respond before there are any further discussions about going back to the United Nations," Bush told a news conference he held with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Mainz, Germany.

Washington has cranked up pressure on Lebanon's "oppressive neighbor" Syria over the past week, recalling its Damascus ambassador. But along with France it has stopped short of blaming Damascus for Hariri's death, with 17 others, when a huge bomb ripped through his motorcade.

Iran, Syria's main ally, accused the United States of interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs and advised the Lebanese people not to be deceived by Bush's comments.

"The Lebanese must beware of falling into the trap of foreigners who, using beautiful words, pursue their own political objectives," Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said. "To secure the interests of Israel in the region, the Americans are putting pressure on Syria to withdraw its forces."

Many Lebanese accuse Syria either of being behind the bombing or responsible as the country's dominant power.

French President Jacques Chirac railed against Syria's pervasive intelligence services in Lebanon, which also incite the wrath of Lebanese opposition figures.

"It is not only the military occupation that is being questioned," Chirac told a news conference on Tuesday night in Brussels. "The special service operatives controlling Lebanon are in fact more questionable than the military occupation."

Former mandate power France has close links to Lebanon and with Washington is a main sponsor of a UN resolution calling for Damascus to withdraw its 14,000 troops.

(China Daily February 25, 2005)