US, France threaten Syria with sanctions on Hariri

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (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 February 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 December 15.

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

Nevertheless, Russian 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.

NOT RULING OUT MILITARY OPTIONS

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
December 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 December 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 September 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.”

(Additional reporting by Irwin Arieff at the United Nations
and Lin Noueihed in Beirut)