UN Security Council presses Syria on Lebanon ties

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (Reuters) A divided UN Security Council today pressed Syria and Lebanon to establish formal diplomatic ties and clarify their shared border to help turn the page on decades of Syrian domination of its neighbour.

China and Russia abstained from a 13-0 vote in the 15-member Security Council to implement fully a 2004 measure seeking an end to outside interference in Lebanon, which at the time had been under Syrian domination for 29 years.

The 2004 text, Security Council Resolution 1559, calls for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon, free and fair presidential elections, and the disarming of all militias so the government could extend its control to all of its territory. It has been only partly implemented.

US Ambassador John Bolton welcomed the vote, but acknowledged he would have preferred it to be unanimous.

''It makes clear the burden is now on Syria'' to respond to the Lebanese government's request for formal relations and a delineation of the border, Bolton told reporters.

''It clearly says Syria needs to do more to stop the flow of weapons across the Syrian border.'' Council diplomats had predicted that Qatar and Argentina would either abstain or vote against the resolution, but both countries voted in favor of the measure drafted by France, the United States and Britain.

Argentina nonetheless reiterated its objection to what it saw as council interference in a question of diplomatic relations, a matter it said should be left to Damascus and Beirut.

Qatar voiced its objection to the drafters' rejection of its request that the resolution also fault Israel for its frequent military flights over Lebanese territory.

''These are among the elements hampering the full implementation of Resolution 1559 and are also a breach of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity,'' Qatar's UN ambassador, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, told the council.

REUTERS KD RN2140