Syria denies hindering UN inquiry

Foreign Minister al-Sharaa criticised the UN resolution and report

Syria has again dismissed accusations that it failed to co-operate fully with a UN investigation into the killing of the former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

The denial came after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution warning of unspecified further action unless Syria helped unconditionally with the probe.

The country's foreign minister said the resolution was based on a presumption of Syrian involvement in the killing.

A UN inquiry implicated Syrian and pro-Syria Lebanese officials.

Now the Syrian government needs to make a strategic decision to fundamentally change its behaviour Condoleezza Rice US Secretary of State Syrians glued to debate Profile: UN Security Council

But Foreign Minister Farouq al-Sharaa criticised its lead investigator, Detlev Mehlis, for accusing his country without due process.

He said no evidence had been put forward concerning alleged false and misleading statements from Syrian officials to investigators.

"It is clear for any person who has followed this issue throughout that Syria's co-operation was complete. I repeat: complete."

Syria has until 15 December to comply with the resolution sponsored by the US, France and the UK, which includes a call for Damascus to detain suspects identified by the inquiry.

Unanimous vote

The killing of Hariri in a car bombing in Beirut in February led to widespread criticism of Syria, which was forced to withdraw its soldiers from Lebanon as a result.

Syria is key to the Middle East - pressure on it will shift the last of the moderates to the extreme Bill, US Syria crisis: Your views

A UN inquiry was also launched in the aftermath.

Last week, Mr Mehlis said Syria had given misleading information and had not fully co-operated with his commission.

The brother and brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were among the suspects named in an unedited version of Mr Mehlis's report.

The unanimous Security Council resolution says that anyone suspected of being involved with Hariri's murder would also be banned from travelling and have their assets frozen.

However, the sponsors dropped a specific threat of sanctions at the last minute in order to win support.

Russia and China had expressed deep concern that the sanctions against Syria proposed in an earlier draft of the resolution were too harsh, and the threat was removed in a subsequent version.

KEY UN FINDINGS Assassins had considerable resources and capabilities Evidence suggests both Syria and Lebanon were involved Crime was prepared over several months Hariri's movements and itineraries were monitored Highly unlikely Syrian or Lebanese intelligence were not aware of assassination plot UN report in full (488K) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the reader here

Speaking in the council after the vote, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Syrian government needed to make a strategic decision to "fundamentally change its behaviour".

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Damascus had now been put on notice that the UN's patience had limits.

But Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing cautioned that the Mehlis report was still preliminary, and that sanctions now would be inappropriate.

At the weekend, Syria announced its own inquiry into the death of Hariri.

Damascus said a special judicial committee would question both civilian and military personnel in the country.

The committee would also co-operate with the UN investigation, the Syrian presidency said.