Syria said on Thursday it will withdraw its troops from neighboring Lebanon according to the 1989 Taif agreement between Syria and Lebanon.

"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 mechanisms it entails," Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said in a statement.

"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 mechanisms it entails," Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said in a statement. (AP)

"Syria expresses its keen interest in cooperating with the envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to accomplish his mission in the best formula possible," he added, noting the "successful" visits of UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen to Syria and Lebanon earlier this month.

However, he expressed concern over the vacuum that the withdrawal could leave.

"Syria sees that speeding up the pace of the withdrawals requires the Lebanese army and internal security to be able to fill the gap that might occur in a way that does not infringe on the security of Lebanon and Syria," Muallem said.

As a main power-broker, Syria still maintains about 14,000 troops in Lebanon after a series of partial redeployments since June 2001.

Syria is under intense international pressure to withdraw from Lebanon in line with UN resolution 1559, and the tension escalated after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was opposed to Syria's interference in Lebanon's internal affairs.

Lebanese opposition blamed Syrian and Lebanese authorities for the death of Hariri and urged Syrian forces to pull out before Lebanon's parliamentary elections in May.

US President George W. Bush said on Wednesday that he would wait for Syria's response to the international demand before seeking possible UN sanctions against Damascus.

Source: Xinhua