UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen on Thursday described his talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a UN resolution demanding Syria not to interfere in neighboring Lebanon as "extremely encouraging and constructive".

"I am encouraged and hopeful and look with optimism forward towards the fulfilment of my assignment," Roed-Larsen told reporters after talks with Assad.

The resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and France, called for a withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon, with a clear reference to Damascus, although not mentioned it by name.

As a main power-broker in Lebanon, Syria still maintains about 14,000 troops there after several redeployment in recent month.

Roed-Larsen held talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara on Monday, but remained silent after the meeting and left for Beirut without an expected meeting with Assad.

Shara said he discussed with Roed-Larsen "negative impacts" of the resolution, saying it had caused tension in the region.

Striking a conciliatory note, Roed-Larsen said on Thursday that the dialogue which the world body was conducting "aims not at weakening but at strengthening the national unity and sovereignty of Lebanon."

"It also takes into consideration ... the historical ties between Syria and Lebanon, recognizing as an important basis the 1989 Taef Agreement as well as the 1991 Treaty of Cooperation between the two countries," he added.

Source: Xinhua