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Lebanese opposition adds voice to clamour
Russia coutiously backs Syrian pullout demand
3/4/2005
Russia, one of Syria's strongest backers, has said Moscow cautiously supports calls for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, while Lebanon's opposition called for an end to Syrian domination of the country, report agencies.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the withdrawal should not violate "the fragile balance" in Lebanon.
Lebanese opposition leaders demanded Wednesday that Syrian forces withdraw and Lebanese security chiefs resign.
Lavrov said he hoped that elections in Lebanon - following the government's resignation - would take place soon.
He told the BBC's Newsnight programme that a new government would be a stabilising factor, and that the process of withdrawal of Syrian troops would take place.
He added that Lebanon had a complicated power structure and was a very difficult country ethnically and religiously.
Walid Jumblatt, a prominent leader of the Druze sect, announced the opposition's list of demands after hosting a meeting of opposition groups to discuss a common strategy.
They said the moves had to precede any talks with Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud on forming a government.
The government of Prime Minister Omar Karami's government resigned Monday after two weeks of protests over the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Many Lebanese blame Syria, which has played a strong role in Lebanon's affairs for decades, for the bombing that killed Hariri.
Jumblatt said the opposition considered it "essential" that Syria withdraw its troops and intelligence services from Lebanon - and demanded an official statement from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Jumblatt said the opposition would only take part in discussions on forming a new government after Lahoud accepted the demands.
Some lawmakers want Lahoud himself to quit, saying he is too close to Syria, which still dominates much of Lebanon.
About 70 opposition figures, leading a massive popular uprising that triggered the dramatic fall of the Syrian-backed government two days ago, announced a series of demands "as the basis of any future (political) participation."
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