Syria looks set to pull all of its troops out of Lebanon ahead of upcoming elections, the Syrian ambassador to Britain said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. "I don't have clear information... However I tend to believe that we will be out before the elections," Sami Khiyami told Britain's ITV Television. Asked whether he meant that all Syria's troops and intelligence elements would leave the country, the ambassador replied: "All troops ... All intelligence operatives." UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said he expects a complete withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon before a legislative election is held. The vote in principle will take place by May 31. On Thursday, the Syrian army completed the first stage of a planned pullback ahead of schedule, with some 4,000 troops having returned home, as more symbols of its near-30-year presence in Lebanon were hauled down.