Walid Jumblatt warned Friday against any effort to destabilize Lebanon's powerful neighbor Syria, as opposition members seek to overthrow the current loyalist regime with timely parliamentary elections. Jumblatt is a leading member of Lebanon's opposition, which has been pushing for Damascus to relinquish its grip on the country and has strained relations with Syria. Speaking from his home in Mukhtara, the Druze leader also said: "The special ties between Beirut and Damascus should remain in place after the Syrian troop pullout from Lebanon." He added: "I insist on the importance Syria's stability." Jumblatt, who has been seeking European and U.S. support for a full Syrian withdrawal from the country, added: "I cannot join any Western project, Israeli or otherwise, to destabilize Syria.""The security of Syria is linked to that of Lebanon, and the security of Lebanon is linked to that of Syria. That's my conviction. That's how the Taif Accord wanted it to be," said Jumblatt. Jumblatt's comments were seen as a response to calls by hardliners in Washington for regime change in Syria, whose ties with the United States have been strained since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which Damascus opposed. In recent weeks Lebanon has faced a series of bombings, which the opposition has blamed on the Syrian regime. The opposition has also said that the Lebanese Army is capable of ensuring Lebanon's security without foreign assistance. Jumblatt acknowledged, however, that his own contacts with Damascus were "broken" last September when President Emile Lahoud's term in office was extended by a Syrian-inspired amendment to Lebanon's Constitution. But the former ally of Damascus said Syrian President Bashar Assad had since "recognized the errors committed in Lebanon," where Damascus has been the main political power-broker since the civil war.