Lebanese leader asks aid of Soviets for withdrawal

Lebanese President Amin Gemayel, pessimistic about prospects for the US-led negotiations on the withdrawal of foreign troops from his country, called for the Soviet Union to play a role in Lebanon.

Mr. Gemayel said that just because the United States was helping Lebanon restore its sovereignty, this did not rule out relations with other countries. His call on Moscow to enter the Lebanese crisis was the clearest sign yet of what Western diplomats here describe as frustration with the lack of progress made by Washington in ridding Lebanon of Israeli, Syrian, and Palestinian troops.