Syria denies no full cooperation in probe into Hariri's killing

Syria denied on Saturday that it has not fully cooperated with a probe into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, pledging to continue cooperation with the international community in this regard.

"Everything that was in the report with regard to no cooperation had no basis," Foreign Ministry official Riad al- Daoudi told reporters, referring to a UN report which linked Syria with the murder of Hariri and accused it of being reluctant to cooperate with a UN investigation team.

"Syria remains committed to international legitimacy, and we will continue to cooperate with the international community," he said.

Daoudi, a legal adviser of the ministry, reasserted Syria's stance that the report had political motives.

He said the report was "based on hypotheses. It was written within a special political context" after Hariri's murder. "It is this context that has led the (UN) commission to make accusations against Syria."

Daoudi said the report was "without any foundation" and " politicized with a view to harming Syria."

Daoudi also read a Foreign Ministry statement denying that Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara and his deputy Walid al-Mualem had tried to mislead the investigation.

Daoudi had led the Syrian side in talks with chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis and attended the questioning of several Syrian officials by the team last month.

For his part, Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmed Arnus criticized the report by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, saying it was " based on preconceived ideas."

A UN report released Thursday evening mentioned "converging evidence" of Syrian and Lebanese involvement in the murder of Hariri and accused Damascus of blocking and misleading the probe.

"There is probable cause to believe that the decision to assassinate ... could not have been taken without the approval of top-ranked Syrian security officials and could not have been further organized without the collusion of their counterparts in the Lebanese security services," it said.

The Syrian government has vehemently denied any involvement in the murder of Hariri in the Feb. 14 car bomb. Hariri had called for withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has claimed innocence in two interviews with western media, denying Syria's involvement in the killing.

Hariri's death led to renewed calls for withdrawal of all Syrian troops and intelligence agents that had been in Lebanon since the early stages of that country's 1975-1990 civil war.

Syria withdrew troops from neighboring Lebanon in April amid growing international pressure.

German prosecutor Mehlis was appointed in May by UN chief Kofi Annan chief investigator of an independent inquiry team to lead investigations in Lebanon and Syria.

Mehlis will brief the UN Security Council on investigations next Tuesday.

Source: Xinhua