UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday told Arab leaders that he expects Syria to fully withdraw from Lebanon befor the country's parliamentary elections in May.

Annan made the remarks while addressing the closing session of the 17th Arab League (AL) summit which opened here on Tuesday.

Annan earlier held a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assadon the summit sidelines and secured from Assad a promise of a fullpullout timetable by early April.

Annan said Assad promised that the timetable, which would include the withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon, would be ready for a UN envoy's visit to Damascus in the first week of April.

On Tuesday, Annan told reporters that as soon as he was presented a timetable, he would urge Syria to fully implement a UN resolution on its withdrawal, adding "I had a very constructive discussion with President Assad and he reconfirmed his commitment to resolution 1559."

At the closing session of the AL summit, Annan also noted that a fuller probe into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri could be necessary.

"Within the next few days I expect to release the report of the(UN) mission of inquiry I established in the wake of the killing. A more comprehensive investigation may well also be necessary," Annan added.

A UN team last week completed its probe into Hariri's killing in a February 14 bomb blast.

The 17th Arab League (AL) summit started its closing session on Wednesday morning. It began with the Annan speech.

Arab leaders on Tuesday kicked off here the AL summit, with reviving an Arab peace initiative and adopting reform measures topping the agenda.

Thirteen Arab heads of state and senior officials from 22 ALmember states attended the opening ceremony at the Nations Palacein the Algerian capital's western suburb.