Lebanon FM: Syria not to pullout completely until at least April

Syrian troops will not withdraw completely from Lebanon until at least after an April 7 meeting between top Syrian and Lebanese military officers to discuss their redeployment, Lebanon's foreign minister said Sunday.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud said the joint military commission would set the "duration, time and location in these matters."

He made the remarks after meeting with U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen in Beirut, a day after Roed-Larsen had visited Syrian President Bashar Assad.

It should be mentioned that the London-based Al Hayat newspaper said Sunday Syria's military exit from Lebanon would be complete on April 27 just before the beginning of the Lebanese parliamentary elections.