US President George W. Bush urged Syria on Friday to withdraw immediately and completely from Lebanon.

"Syria, Syrian troops, Syrian intelligence services must get out of Lebanon now," Bush said in a speech in the town of Westfield, New Jersey.

In his speech Bush said that "the world is speaking to Syria with one voice: We want that democracy in Lebanon to succeed. And we know it cannot succeed so long as it is occupied by a foreign power. There are no half-measures involved. We mean complete withdrawal, no half-hearted measures."

Bush welcomed Saudi Arabia joining international calls for Syria to pull its 14,000 troops out of Lebanon, where anti-Syrian feeling has mounted since the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri last month.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday to pull the troops out "rapidly" in accordance with UN Security Council demands,

In an interview with the New York Post published Thursday, Bushinsisted that the demand for Syrian withdrawal is "non-negotiable."

"It is time to get out," Bush said. "I think we've got a good chance to achieve that objective and to make sure that the May elections (in Lebanon) are fair. I don't think you can have fair elections with Syrian troops there."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that his country willwithdraw its troops from Lebanon in a few months, Time magazine reported Tuesday.

Prior to the pledge, Syria said that it would begin moving its troops in Lebanon closer to its own border, but it did not announce the timetable.

Source: Xinhua