On the eve of a UN vote on a draft resolution threatening sanctions against Syria, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara left for New York on Sunday to attend a UN Security Council ministerial meeting in a new round of diplomatic efforts to defuse mounting international pressure.

Shara will hold meetings with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and some foreign ministers of the Security Council members during his stay in the UN headquarters and further explain Syria's stance on the UN probe into the killing of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, leading an international investigative team, presented to the United Nations a preliminary report on Oct. 20 after months of investigation which found " converging evidence" of both Syrian and Lebanese involvement in Hariri's killing and urged Syria to fully cooperate with the probe.

Syria denied any involvement and dismissed the findings as politically motivated and false.

Syria's refusal prompted the United States, France and Britain to circulate a draft resolution on Tuesday in the Security Council following Mehlis' briefing on the investigation, which threatens economic or diplomatic sanctions against Syria if it fails to fully cooperate with the international committee.

Following the publication of the Mehlis report, Syria reiterated that it would cooperate with the international committee.

On Saturday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a presidential decree to set up its own commission of inquiry in cooperation with the UN probe.

The commission would question Syrian civilians and military personnel concerned in the UN probe, reported the official SANA news agency.

Syria also expressed readiness to punish any Syrian involved in the assassination of Hariri on Feb. 14, deputy secretary general of the regional command of the ruling al-Baath party Mohamed Saeed Buhtani said on Saturday at a conference of the lawyers association.

Meanwhile, President Assad sent Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem as his envoy for a Gulf countries tour to deliver letters to their heads of state.

Muallem presented Assad's letter to Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on Saturday evening in the Saudi city of Jeddah and the king responded that the Saudi government and people would stand by Syria in facing pressure against it by some international circles.

Earlier on Friday, President Assad held a closed-door meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who paid a surprise visit to Damascus.

Egypt, which along with Saudi Arabia is a main US ally and power broker in the region, said it would make efforts to defuse tensions between Syria and the United States.

The two leaders exchanged views on the UN report and underscored "not to politicize the report" since the investigation is not finished yet.

Assad, also on Friday, called his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva over consultations in the Security Council, of which Brazil is currently a member state.

In addition, Syria sought its close ally Russia's support as President Assad made a phone call on Tuesday to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to ensure the UN probe would not be misused for other purposes.

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."

Russia, one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, said it would work to prevent sanctions being imposed.

"Russia will do everything necessary for there not to be attempts to declare sanctions against Syria," said foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin on Tuesday.

Hariri was killed in a massive car bomb in Beirut on Feb. 14 and his death led to renewed calls for withdrawal of all Syrian troops and intelligence agents that had been in Lebanon since the early stage of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

Syria withdrew troops in April under international pressure.

Source: Xinhua