Syria on Tuesday asked the United Nations (UN) to help broker a cooperation agreement between Damascus and an international investigation team over the probe into the killing of Lebanese ex-premier Rafik Hariri.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara made the call in letters to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the UN Security Council, according to a Foreign Ministry statement obtained by Xinhua.

"The Foreign Minister's letters asked the help of the President of the (UN) Security Council and UN Secretary General in reaching a cooperation protocol with the Syrian government," said the statement.

The statement added that the aim of the UN investigation committee, led by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, was to find the truth of the murder, which was also Syria's aim.

The letters came one day after Annan defended his efforts to persuade Syria to cooperate with the UN probe, stepping aside allegations that he had interfered with it.

"I think it is my duty as secretary general to do whatever I can... to make sure that everybody cooperates," Annan said in New York after a two-week tour of the Middle East and Pakistan.

Damascus and Mehlis have not reached an agreement on the venue of questioning six Syrian security and intelligence officials, which reportedly included Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law Assef Shawkat.

Foreign Ministry legal advisor Riad al-Daoudi held a meeting with Mehlis in the Spanish city of Barcelona last week over the venue and the legal framework of the interrogation, but there was no official announcement of the outcome yet.

Syria is facing mounting international pressure following the release of an interim report by Mehlis on Oct. 20 which implicated Syria's involvement in Hariri's killing.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1636 demanding Syria's full cooperation and threatening "further actions" if Damascus refuses to cooperate.

Syria has consistently denied any involvement in the assassination of Hariri, but pledged cooperation in the case.

Mehlis is scheduled to submit a final report on the deadline of Dec. 15.

Source: Xinhua