Mahdi Dakhlallah stressed that Syria has withdrawn all its troops and intelligence agents and is dealing with Lebanon in an “overt way and without any acts that have secret nature”, the report added.  ”All Syrian troops, of all their different divisions, have withdrawn from Lebanon, and this was verified by the United Nations,” Dakhlallah said.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending inspectors to Lebanon to check reports that Syrian intelligence officials may still be operating in the country, a U.N. official said Friday.

A U.N. team monitoring Syria’s compliance on May 23 said all locations formerly used by Syria’s military intelligence apparatus were empty and concluded that “no Syrian military intelligence personnel remain in Lebanon in known locations or in military uniform”.

Dakhallah said that the claims are proof of “US disappointment over the latest developments in Lebanon and which have shown that the majority of the Lebanese people support the national forces and resistance”.

He called for respect of Lebanon’s independence and its sovereignty.