By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON – The United States reacted warily Monday to word that Syria will pull back its troops to the eastern part of Lebanon and demanded that it withdraw its forces “completely and immediately.”  The announcement of a phased troop pullback was denounced by White House spokesman Scott McClellan as “a half measure.” The presidents of Syria and Lebanon announced Monday that the Syrian troops would be pulled back to eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley by March 31. No timetable was announced for a full pullout.

BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon’s bourse leader Solidere is to be listed on the booming Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) from Tuesday, the Beirut downtown real estate giant said. Lebanon’s former premier Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated on February 14, founded Solidere in 1994 to rebuild Lebanon following its 15-year civil war. “Solidere wants to attract more Arab investors, especially Kuwaitis who have a permanent interest in Solidere shares, in the Lebanese real estate sector and in particular the downtown area,” the firm said in a statement. It said the KSE was attractive because of its high liquidity.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, under pressure to withdraw troops from Lebanon, insisted he should not be compared to Saddam Hussein and that he wanted to cooperate with international demands, according to an interview. most from the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, whose killing led to stepped up calls for Syria to pullout from neighboring Lebanon. When asked who had killed Hariri, Assad told the weekly: “The most important question is, Who had the benefit of it? “As president, I can’t tell you this country or that. But who suffered most from it? Syria. Syria was the biggest loser. The Lebanese, definitely, they lost … But Syria lost more.”

CAIRO, Egypt – Saudi officials told Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday that he must fully withdraw troops from Lebanon and begin soon or face strains in Saudi-Syrian ties. Assad promised only to study the idea of a partial withdrawal by later this month. The kingdom took a tough line as Assad met with the Saudi leader, Crown Prince Abdullah, and other officials in Riyadh. So far, Damascus has resisted Arab pressure for a quick pullout from Lebanon.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s opposition on Wednesday demanded Syrian troops and intelligence agents leave their country and Syrian-backed Lebanese security chiefs resign. The opposition said in a statement that pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud must accept the demands before they would join any discussions on forming a new government. Two weeks of demonstrations forced the pro-Syrian government of Prime Minister Omar Karami to quit Monday, leaving officials with a complex search for a new head of government. “The … step that the opposition considers essential in its demands on the road to salvation and independence is the total withdrawal of the Syrian army and intelligence service from Lebanon,” said the statement read by MP Ahmad Fatfat.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Russia and Germany joined an international chorus of demands for Syria to leave Lebanon, and President Bashar al-Assad was expected to travel to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks diplomats said would focus on a pullout.  “Syria should withdraw from Lebanon, but we all have to make sure that this withdrawal does not violate the very fragile balance which we still have in Lebanon, which is a very difficult country ethnically,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the BBC late on Wednesday. Russia, Syria’s main Cold War ally and still one of its best friends, abstained when the U.N. Security Council adopted U.S.- and French-sponsored Resolution 1559 in September calling for foreign forces to leave Lebanon and militias to disarm.

WASHINGTON, March 2 – President Bush raised the pressure on Syria today, saying the world was “speaking with one voice” in demanding that Damascus pull its troops from Lebanon.A State Department official, meanwhile, expressed skepticism about a new Syrian vow to withdraw. President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, seeking to defuse international pressure, pledged in an interview with Time magazine this week that his troops would leave “maybe in the next few months.” He qualified this, however, saying that the redeployment of 14,000 troops would require extensive and time-consuming preparations. Mr. Bush, speaking at a community college in Arnold, Md., applauded the message Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had delivered a day earlier in London. She said that Damascus was “out of step” with the world’s desires for a free Lebanon. Her French counterpart, Michel Barnier, who appeared with her, agreed.

BEIRUT (AFP) – The Lebanese opposition stepped up its demands for an end to Syria’s political and military domination as the beleaguered pro-Damascus president struggled to find a new prime minister.  The opposition movement, riding on a wave of massive popular protests that led to the dramatic fall of the Syrian-backed government two days ago, was to meet later Wednesday to plan its next political moves. As the political crisis triggered by the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri last month deepened, the United States intensified its pressure on Lebanon’s political masters in Syria.

By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer LONDON – The United States called for an immediate end to Syrian military and political dominion over neighboring Lebanon on Tuesday, applying its strongest pressure to date.  “The Syrians are out of step with where the region is going and out of step with the aspirations of the people of the Middle East,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. She blamed terrorists operating in Syria for last week’s suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Rice said there was gathering international resolve that Syria must pull out of Lebanon and allow the Lebanese to choose their own political future. That choice must be independent of “contaminating influences,” she said, underscoring a joint U.S.-French statement on Tuesday and a United Nations resolution last fall.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he expected Syrian troops to pull out of Lebanon in a few months, as hundreds of Lebanese protesters returned to central Beirut on Tuesday demanding Syria quit their country. Syria has 14,000 troops in Lebanon, but its dominant role in the country has come under increasing pressure as a result of mass demonstrations sparked by the assassination last month of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Two weeks of unprecedented protests forced the pro-Syrian cabinet of Prime Minister Omar Karami to step down on Monday, piling pressure on Damascus, and left officials with a complicated search for a new premier.