Washington discusses punishing Syria
Syria-USA, Politics, 3/4/2005

A high ranking official in the American government said that Washington is discussing with its European allies taking joint measures to punish Syria in case it is slow in withdrawing its forces from Lebanon.

The American official explained that Washington and its allies are discussing with he called additional steps which the international community can take to force Syria to implement UN resolution 1559 which calls for the pullout of the foreign forces from Lebanon.

In this context, the US President George W. Bush said that the message of the US, France and many other countries to Syria is clear, heard and states to withdraw now " not only its forces but its intelligence forces from Lebanon." American sources stressed that Washington's aim is to prepare for prompt action in solidarity with Europe in order to impose joint sanctions and issue a new tougher UN resolution.

For his part, the UN secretary general Kofi Annan expressed in a press conference on Thursday his hope to achieve a progress concerning the withdrawal of the Syrian forces from Lebanon, noting that he will delegate his special envoy Terry Rod Larsen to the region in order to discuss the issue of the withdrawal with the two ( Syrian and Lebanese) governments concerned.

Previous Stories:
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  Syrian official source denies Italian paper statement   (3/2/2005)
  Armitage: US does not want tension with Syria   (2/26/2005)

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