US, France threaten Syria with sanctions on UN Hariri probe

UNITED NATIONS, Wednesday (Reuters) The United States and France threatened Syria with economic sanctions on Tuesday if Damascus does not cooperate fully with a U.N. probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Their tough draft resolution, backed by Britain and circulated to the 15 Security Council members, demands Damascus detain possible suspects and make them available to U.N. investigators, who have complained about Syria's cooperation.

If Syria does not do this, the text says, the council would consider "further measures," such as economic sanctions, "to ensure compliance."

German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, who heads the investigation and released a report on Thursday, said the assassination of Hariri in Beirut on Feb. 14 "was organized by Syrian and Lebanese security officials."

Hariri had opposed Syrian domination in Lebanon.

Mehlis repeatedly said Syria had obstructed his work, that he was unable to talk to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and that several officials interviewed gave false statements. Syria has vigorously denied the charges.

It was uncertain whether the resolution would suit Security Council members usually wary of sanctions, like Russia, China and Algeria, although U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said all had been consulted. He said he did not expect sanctions to be considered until Mehlis again reports to the council, probably around Dec. 15.

"We will work to get the broadest support we can," Bolton said.

Nevertheless, Russian President President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation with Assad, welcomed Syria's readiness to cooperate with the commission, the Kremlin press service said on Tuesday. The two presidents discussed the need for the international community to "act cautiously" to prevent further tension in the region, it said.

The resolution would also impose a travel ban and a freeze on overseas assets of suspects named now or in the future by Mehlis' commission.

This would include 10 people Lebanon has already charged with complicity, but not - for now - those cited in Mehlis' last report on Thursday, such as Assad's brother-in-law, the head of military intelligence.

The resolution puts more pressure on Syria, already a Bush administration target for its alleged failure to keep foreign fighters from crossing its border with Iraq.

Both U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have refused to rule out possible military action against Syria, but said Washington has not exhausted its diplomatic options.

Bush told Al Arabiya television in an interview aired on Tuesday military action "is the last - very last option." He said he had "worked hard for diplomacy and will continue to work the diplomatic angle on this issue." No vote on the resolution is set, but the United States hopes for approval at a Security Council foreign ministers' meeting, tentatively set for Monday.

The draft resolution also expresses the Security Council's willingness to extend the mandate of the commission beyond Dec. 15 if Lebanon requests it.

The United States and France circulated the resolution hours after Mehlis briefed the Security Council on his report and held a news conference.

Mehlis said his 30-member team from 17 countries had received a number of "credible" threats, which he expected would increase before his probe ended on Dec. 15.

In response, Syria's U.N. ambassador, Fayssal Mekdad, told the Security Council Damascus had cooperated and would continue to do so. He said blaming Hariri's death on Syrian and Lebanese security services was like accusing U.S. security of responsibility for the Sept. 11 attacks because they were in its territory.

"Every paragraph in this report deserves a comment to refute its contents," Mekdad said.

In Beirut, pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud vowed to stay in office until the last minute of his term, defying fresh calls to resign. The Mehlis report said he had received a phone call from a plotter minutes before Hariri was killed.

But Mehlis said Lahoud was not a suspect and "was just having a telephone conversation and this is not illegal."