Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, seeking support to ensure a UN probe into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafikal-Hariri would not be misused for other purposes.

"The president stressed during the phone call the importance of not using the report by some members of the Security Council for purposes that do not serve the target for which the UN investigative commission had been set up for," the official SANA news agency quoted Assad as telling Putin.

Assad was referring to the report presented by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday implicating Syria's involvement in the murder.

For his part, Putin told Assad that the international body's works should "be well-balanced to prevent the rise of new areas of tension in the region."

The United States and France have urged the Security Council to take action against Syria for its alleged involvement in Hariri's killing.

On late Tuesday, the United States, France and Britain circulated a draft Security Council resolution late Tuesday, calling on Syria to arrest any person suspected of involvement in the assassination of Hariri.

Syria has denied any involvement and dismissed the report as "politically motivated and far from truth."

On Sunday, Assad on Sunday sent letters to the Security Council members to explain Syria's position over the UN probe.

Syria withdrew its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon in late April under growing international pressure after Hariri's death sparked widespread anti-Syrian protests in Lebanon.

Source: Xinhua