Washington Would Never Allow Syria to Intervene Militarily in Lebanon
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday pledged that Washington would "never permit Syria to intervene militarily in Lebanon."
Rice, in an interview with the Arabiya television network, said the message has been "clearly" relayed to the Syrians.
The recent military attacks in Tripoli and Damascus should not be used as a pretext to justify Syrian military intervention in Lebanon, she said.
Lebanon, Rice added, would not be able to "tolerate" such an intervention in light of "signals" by Syria that it is interested in a "different" relationship with Beirut.
The chief of U.S. diplomacy said she had discussed with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem the topics of border demarcation and border control with Lebanon.
She also discussed with Muallem the need to halt the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq.
"Syria should clarify to us on which side it stands," she stressed.