Syria invites UN investigator for Hariri talks

DAMASCUS - Syria has invited a United Nations investigator to Damascus to discuss cooperation with the investigation into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Syria last month dismissed a UN report implicating its officials in the bombing that killed Hariri, saying it was politically motivated. A Security Council resolution demanded it co-operate fully with the probe or face unspecified action.

"As we hope that you would agree on the visit ... we propose in this regard the signing of a memorandum of understanding with your committee to achieve the desired cooperation," Ghada Murad, head of a Syrian panel set up in October to investigate the killing, said in a letter to UN investigator Detlev Mehlis.

Murad, also Syria's general prosecutor, told Mehlis her committee was ready "for full cooperation and coordination with you to find the truth that we all seek", and that she wanted to discuss the best ways for cooperation between the two teams.

The Syrian state news agency SANA said the letter was sent to Mehlis on Tuesday. There was no immediate comment from the Lebanon-based UN inquiry.

The letter did not directly refer to a request by Mehlis to question six Syrian officials in Lebanon. A Lebanese source has said the six include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, Major General Asef Shawkat.

- REUTERS