Hariri court 'has no bearing on Syria'

Daily Star - Hariri court 'has no bearing on Syria', June 2, 2007.

DAMASCUS: Syria will not cooperate with the UN tribunal being created to try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem reiterated on Friday. UN Resolution 1757, adopted on Wednesday by the Security Council, "has no bearing on Syria, and we have informed the Security Council that we will not cooperate," Moallem told a news conference in Damascus with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki.
"The issue of the tribunal concerns Lebanon alone, and Syria will not concede its sovereignty to any party, no matter who that party is," he said.
Moallem said the move "infringes on Lebanese sovereignty," and deplored "the speed with which the Security Council decided on a tribunal without unanimity either on an international or Lebanese level."
"It would have been better to have a consensus among the Lebanese on the tribunal. We hope that the Lebanese use dialogue to reach an agreement that will end divisions and guarantee security and stability."
For his part, Mottaki said that Iran will only hold fresh talks with the United States on stabilizing Iraq if Washington changes its policies there.
"We are examining the results of those discussions and if there is a real willingness on the part of the US administration to change ... we will continue them," he said.
"The lack of security in Iraq and the continuation of the occupation are the root causes of the crisis," Mottaki added. "Iran is one of the countries that could help resolve the crisis."
Iranian and US delegations met in Baghdad on Monday for their highest-level official talks since the two governments broke off relations shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Mottaki and Moallem said their governments are keen to maintain security and stability in the Middle East.
On a possible Israeli attack on Syria, Mottaki said his country "would relentlessly support Syria," noting that "Israel would never dare to launch another attack in the region following its rout in Lebanon last summer."