Russia Friday renewed its call for Syria to leave Lebanon and for the conversion of the militant Hezbollah into a political party. "We are following up closely the latest developments in Lebanon, including Syria's decision to pull out part of its troops from Lebanon and redeploy the rest in the eastern Bekaa valley," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, the Interfax news agency reported. "We believe that the withdrawal will also include the intelligence services," Lavrov said after a meeting with Waleed Jumblat, chief of Lebanon's multisectarian opposition, which has been pressing for end of Syria's military and political hegemony. Lavrov said: "The political role of Hezbollah should be taken into consideration in order to serve the interests of Lebanon and the Middle East in general." He said U.N. Resolution 1559, which mandates Syria's withdrawal, must be enforced, leaving no room for half-measures on the disarming of Hezbollah and Palestinian factions. Jumblat said basic changes around the world in recent years are now reaching the Middle East. "The Berlin Wall collapsed, Russia became a democratic country and Lebanon wants to be a free country too," Jumblat said.