The United States, Britain and France circulated a draft Security Council resolution late Tuesday, calling on Syria to cooperate in the investigation of the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri or face UN sanctions.

The five-page draft states that Syria "must detain those Syrian officials or individuals" whom a UN-authorized inquiry commission might consider as suspected of having been involved in the murder of Hariri, and make them available for interviews with the panel.

The draft requests Syria to allow the panel to interview other Syrian officials or individuals it deems relevant to the inquiry outside the country or outside the presence of any other Syrian officials.

It also demand Syria stop interfering in Lebanese domestic affairs, refrain from any attempt aimed at destabilizing Lebanon, and commit to "cease all support for all forms of terrorist action. "

The draft contains a veiled threat of sanctions against Syria in case the country fails to meet the demands. It says that the Security Council intends to consider further measures pursuant to Article 41 of the UN Charter to ensure Syria's compliance. Under Article 41, the council can resort to economic or diplomatic sanctions to ensure the implementation of its decisions.

The resolution also declares that all individuals designated by the inquiry panel as suspects for the murder of Hariri shall be subject to a travel ban and a freeze on their funds, financial assets and other economic sources.

The US-French-British measure was distributed hours after the council held closed consultations on the investigation of the Feb. 14 bombing attack in Beirut, Lebanon's capital, which killed 21 people, including Hariri.

Before the meeting, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, the head of the inquiry commission, briefed the council on the team's findings after more than four months of probe into the attack.

In a report to Annan last Thursday, Mehlis concluded that senior Syrian security officials were involved in the assassination of Hariri and he accused Damascus of providing " limited" cooperation in the probe. The accusations have been vehemently rejected by the Syrian government.

The US-French-British draft resolution endorses Mehlis' conclusion that "it is incumbent upon the Syrian authorities to clarify a considerable part of the questions which remain unresolved."

In his briefing to the council, Mehlis urged Syria to "show greater and meaningful cooperation" and "provide any relevant substantial evidence on the assassination."

US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton told reporters earlier Tuesday that the US wanted the Security Council to send a strong signal to the Syrian government that "its obstruction (of the probe) has to cease and cease immediately."

Diplomats here said Washington wants the resolution to be adopted next Monday when the 15-nation Security Council holds a foreign ministers' meeting.

Source: Xinhua