Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to announce partial troops pullout from neighboring Lebanon in a speech to parliament on Saturday afternoon, al-Jazeera reported on Friday.

The move is expected to include withdrawal of part of the 14,000 troops from Lebanon and redeployment of some to areas closer to the Syrian border, a Lebanese official source said.

Assad will deliver a speech in parliament "on current political developments" on Saturday, the official SANA news agency said, without giving further details.

Syrian First Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Muallem also noted in Moscow that Assad is expected to announce a withdrawal plan, but he did not unveil a timetable or give any further details.

Syria has indicated recently it would conduct the pullout under the Taif agreement signed between Damascus and various Lebanese groups in 1989. The document put an end to Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war and outlined the gradual pullout of Syrian forces from Lebanon.

At a meeting with visiting Muallem, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow hopes the steps Syria is taking "will help not only strengthen the sovereignty of Lebanon, but also bring the situation in the region back to normal."

Russia is satisfied with Syria's planned steps, which will proceed in compliance with the Taif Accord and UN Security Council Resolution 1599, said Lavrov. He stressed Russia and Syria are committed to Lebanon's sovereignty.

Beirut has been under mounting international pressures to withdraw its troops in Lebanon after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri on Feb. 14.

Lebanon's opposition accused Syria of involvement in the case, which Damascus denied vehemently.

The United States has spearheaded efforts to lead a call for Syrian pullout, and Germany and Britain were the latest to join the camp.

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, "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."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also called for Syria's withdrawal on Friday.

"It's very clear that Syria should withdraw its troops in Lebanon," Straw said in an interview with the BBC Radio.

"That was the call of the United Nations Security Council in its Resolution 1559 last September," he said.

Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac called for the complete and immediate implementation of a UN resolution seeking Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.

Chirac has urged the "full, entire and immediate application of UN Security Council resolution 1559," at a meeting in Paris with visiting Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabir al-Thani and later in a telephone conversation with Egyptian President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak, his office said.

However, Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Thursday refrained from adding pressure on Syria, saying they were opting for quiet diplomacy by individual Arab states.

Source: Xinhua