(Reuters/CNN) A U.S.-drafted resolution telling Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and warning against foreign interference in Beirut's presidential election squeaked through the UN Security Council Thursday. The council voted 9-0 with six abstentions - the minimum vote possible - to adopt the resolution after the U.S. and co-sponsor France agreed under pressure not to mention Syria by name, although it is the only country with foreign forces in Lebanon. Angola, Benin, Britain, Chile, Germany, Romania, and Spain joined in voting in favor of the resolution while Algeria, Brazil, China, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Russia abstained. "The Lebanese parliament and the Lebanese cabinet should express the will of the Lebanese people through a free and fair presidential electoral process. What the Lebanese people and we have witnessed over the past week in terms of Syrian actions is a crude mockery of this principle," U.S. Ambassador John Danforth told the council.
2004-09-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive