French President Jacques Chirac has repeated his call for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon as soon as possible.
"What we all wish is that Lebanon regains its autonomy, its independence, its integrity and democracy," Chirac told a news conference in Brussels, where he attended a summit of EU leaders.
"In this context ... we demand, in line with resolution 1559, that Syria withdraws entirely from Lebanon, as soon as possible."
A document released earlier at the EU summit in Brussels showed France called on its fellow nations in the bloc to demand that Syria implement its pledge to withdraw troops from Lebanon according to a precise timetable.
U.N. resolution 1559 was passed in September and calls for a full withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
France formerly ruled both Lebanon and Syria.