Roundup: UN envoy expects tough talks with Syria as official says

UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said on Saturday that talks with Syria will be tough but he was optimistic about the outcome, while Syria was said to unveil a timetable for a full pullout.

"I am now proceeding to Damascus and Beirut on a difficult mission to discuss deeds and words which are difficult for everybody concerned," Larsen told reporters in the Jordanian capital Amman, where he met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulqi during a brief stop.

"My primary concern is that we have to move forward in the best interest of all countries concerned and also to move forward in such a way that we preserve stability in the region and this has been the main topic of our talks here tonight," he said.

Larsen will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad here on Sunday. Information Ministry sources told Xinhua that Larsen would also attend a joint press conference after talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Faruk al-Shareh.

Larsen kicked off his tour on Saturday in Egypt where he discussed the Syrian-Lebanese issue with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. After his visit to Syria, the envoy will head to Beirut for talks with senior Lebanese officials on Monday.

Larsen said he will not discuss a timetable before meeting with Syrian President al-Assad. "This is the only dialogue which can really bear fruits," he said, adding that he is not carrying a "warning" to the leader.

Before talking with Mubarak, the envoy said, "My last meeting with President Bashar al-Assad was good and bore significant fruit and I do expect that this also will be the result of the upcoming talks."

UN diplomats said Larsen was expected on Sunday to receive from Syrian officials a credible and precise timetable on a full pullout from neighboring Lebanon.

Syria has carried out the first stage of a two-phase withdrawal, with nearly half of its 14,000 troops pulling out of Lebanon and the rest pulling back to the eastern Bekaa valley.

A Syrian-Lebanese military committee is scheduled to meet on April 7 to work out a final withdrawal plan.

During an Arab summit in Algeria late last month, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he has secured a Syrian pledge to completely withdraw from Lebanon before the country's parliamentary elections in May.

In another development, at least four people were wounded on Friday night in an explosion in Bermana town in the eastern mountain of Beirut, the local private LBC television reported.

More than 10 cars were destroyed in the blast, which caused heavy material damage.

Witnesses said the blast occurred at 09:45 pm (1845 GMT) at the Rizk commercial center in a Christian village of Bermana, 20 km east of Beirut.

Lebanon plunged into political turbulence after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which the opposition has said on the Syria-backed authorities.

The blast is the fourth bomb attack in Christian areas in two weeks.

Source: Xinhua