DAMASCUS, March 7: Syrian forces, under growing US pressure to quit Lebanon, will pull back to eastern areas this month and Damascus and Beirut will then decide how long the troops stay, the leaders of the two countries agreed on Monday.

The pullback would be the biggest single such move since Syrian forces intervened in Lebanon's civil war in 1976. It now has some 14,000 troops there, down from 40,000.

Following protests in Beirut, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday he would withdraw his troops but declared Damascus would still play a role in its much smaller neighbour.

Mr Assad met his Lebanese counterpart Emile Lahoud in Damascus on Monday and a statement later said they had agreed on the two-phase withdrawal plan. The plan set no timetable for a full withdrawal. The US has demanded an immediate departure of Syrian troops and intelligence agents.

France and Germany jointly urged Syria on Monday to get its forces out of Lebanon as soon as possible. "We expect Syria to withdraw its troops and security services completely and as quickly as possible," the two countries said in a joint declaration at a summit between Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Jacques Chirac.

Even while Mr Assad and Mr Lahoud were meeting, Syrian soldiers based in the Lebanese mountain towns of Hamana, Mdairij, Soufar and Aley were dismantling communications equipment or loading personal belongings and military gear on military trucks, witnesses said. - Reuters