A top Russian diplomat hoped on Friday that the long-awaited withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon will help defuse tensions between the two neighbors.

Russia hopes that the steps Syria is taking "will help not onlystrengthen the sovereignty of Lebanon, but also bring the situation in the region back to normal," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting with visiting Syrian First Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

Muallem said that his visit is aimed at discussing ways to put the 1989 Taif Accord, which envisions a step-by-step withdrawal ofSyrian troops from Lebanon, into effect, Interfax news agency reported.

Muallem noted that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expectedto announce a plan for pulling out troops from Lebanon, but the diplomat did not unveil a timetable or give any further details.

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

Warm relations between Damascus and Moscow can be dated back tothe 1950s when the two considered each other as close allies during the Cold War period. Bilateral relations experienced a setback after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, but rebounded since Bashar al-Assad came to power as Syrian president.

Russia is negotiating to sell advanced air defense systems to Damascus in defiance of opposition from the United States and Israel.

Assad paid his first to Moscow in January since taking office in 2000 to discuss economic and military-technical cooperation with the Russian leadership amid pressures from Israel and the United States.