Lebanese leaders voiced more support on Tuesday for a UN-backed probe into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

President Emile Lahoud said in a statement that Resolution 1636 adopted by the UN Security Council on Monday should aim to put to light all behind the Feb. 14 assassination of Hariri and 20 other victims.

The perpetrators must be brought to justice after they were identified with full evidence within the framework of the UN resolution, according to the statement.

The resolution, co-sponsored by the United States, Britain and France, demands that Syria cooperate fully with UN investigators, warning that "further measures" are possible if Damascus does not give full assistance to the UN probe headed by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis.

Mehlis has hinted that Hariri could not have been killed without the complicity of top security officials of Syria and Lebanon.

In response, Syria has pledged to cooperate with the UN inquiry while maintaining its innocence over the assassination.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, who had asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to prolong Mehlis' mission till Dec. 15, met European Union (EU) diplomats here Tuesday on the implementation of the UN resolution.

British Ambassador to Lebanon James Watt, whose country is holding the rotating presidency of the EU, told reporters after the meeting that the EU firmly supports the UN resolution and encourages the Lebanese government to take action in that aspect.

Watt saw UN-Lebanese cooperation strengthened under Resolution 1636, saying that would create favorable conditions for the investigation.

Vowing that the EU will help fully carry out the UN resolution, the ambassador renewed the demand for full cooperation from Syria in the international probe of the assassination.

Source: Xinhua