Russia urges Syria to cooperate with UN resolution
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged Syria on Tuesday to cooperate with a UN Security Council resolution demanding its full cooperation with a United Nations inquiry into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
"The Syrian question is not closed, because Syria must fulfill the conditions set out in the resolution on conducting interviews with its citizens," Lavrov said in comments posted on the Foreign Ministry Web site.
He said he hoped Syria would use the time before the UN commission's investigation is completed "to fulfill the conditions set out in the resolution," which was sponsored by the United States, Britain and France and passed Monday with the support of all 15 security Council nations.
The resolution came less than two weeks after lead investigator Detlev Mehlis released a report concluding it was not likely Hariri - who died in a February blast that also killed 20 other people - could have been killed without senior Syrian approval.
Lavrov said Russia voted for the resolution because other Security Council members took into account its objections to earlier drafts that threatened economic sanctions and included other wording it opposed, such as accusation of Syrian involvement in terrorism.