"Syrian troops will completely pull back to Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon and then to the Syrian-Lebanese border," Assad told the parliament in a speech in Arabic.

The 14,000 troops would withdraw "as soon as possible" from Lebanon to the Syrian side of the border, Syrian Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban explained further.

Lebanon's outgoing Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad confirmed Sunday that "the redeployment to the Bekaa will start after the meeting of the Syrian-Lebanese (supreme) council which should take place on Monday in Damascus."

Syria and Lebanon have kept a close relationship for the past three decades since Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976 to intervene its 1975-90 civil war under the Taif Accord. The Taif agreement, which was signed between Damascus andvarious Lebanese groups in 1989, virtually put an end to the Lebanese war and outlined a gradual pullout of Syrian forces from Lebanon.

As a key power-broker in Lebanon, Syria still maintains 14,000 troops in the neighboring country after several redeployment in recent years.

But this special relation has been challenged since UN Security Council resolution 1559 was adopted last September at the initiative of the United States and France, demanding a pullout of foreign troops from Lebanon.

The call was triggered recently by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri on Feb. 14, which Lebanon's opposition accused Syria of playing a role, a charge denied byDamascus.

Public mourning of Hariri, a major architect of Lebanon'spostwar revival and opponent to Syria's influence, turned into massprotest that toppled Beirut's pro-Syrian government this week. The United States has spearheaded efforts to lead a call for theSyrian pullout, and Germany and Britain were the latest to join thecamp, urging implementation of UN resolution 1559. Russia, long one of Syria's best friends, also said the troopsshould go. "Syria should withdraw from Lebanon, but we all have tomake sure that this withdrawal does not violate the very fragilebalance which we still have in Lebanon, which is a very difficultcountry ethnically," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Although Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo last Thursdayrefrained from adding pressure on Syria, it said a Syrian pulloutwas necessary so as to avoid any foreign intervention in theLebanese affairs.

Under such circumstances, Syria has no way out but to announce pullout from Lebanon.

"Everybody has a view that the withdrawal is a problem, but thisis the simplest thing. Syria does not reject the principal ofwithdrawal," Assad told the parliament, adding the withdrawal ofSyrian troops from Lebanon does not mean the absence of a Syrianrole in Lebanon.

Although the withdrawal would abate current pressures facing it,Syria sees substantial risks in case a political and securityvacuum arise in Lebanon after the troops go.

The absence of Syrian influence in Lebanon may prompt a pro-western government in that country, which would possibly make peacewith Israel alone. Thus Syria would lose a strategic card on thenegotiating table with arch-foe Israel.

There are also economic considerations. Hundreds of thousands ofSyrians, mainly farmers and construction workers, work in Lebanonfor higher salaries and the money goes back to Syria. However, if Syria refuse to pull out, it would confront an evenworse situation, with western and Arab isolations and possibleinternational sanctions.

The European Union has announced an indefinite delay of ascheduled formal signature of the Syrian-EU partnership agreement,which was initialed last October in Brussels after years ofnegotiations.

The worst, nevertheless, would be a US military attack againstthe country, Syria worries.

"Our announcement to withdraw from Lebanon does not mean a stopof pressures on us (from western countries)," Assad said. World observers said that the key question is whether Assad'sspeech will satisfy US President George W. Bush, who has warned theDamascus government he expects nothing less than a full pulloutfrom Lebanon.

In fact, Bush, in his latest attack in a Saturday radio address,said Syria constitutes an obstacle to peace process across theMiddle East.

Echoing the US position, European countries, such as France,Britain and Germany, were coherent on a full and quick withdrawal. Walid Jumblatt from the Lebanese opposition welcomed Assad'sSaturday speech as "positive," saying it had provided the "newvision" that the opposition had demanded.

But "we extend our hand while realizing that there needs to be aclear timetable," he stressed.