Syria will not cooperate with the U.N. tribunal established to try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem confirmed on Friday.
U.N 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 with this tribunal," Muallem told a joint news conference in Damascus with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki.
"Syria has reiterated on several occasions that the tribunal concerns only Lebanon," he said, according to AFP. "Syria will not abandon its sovereignty."
The U.N. resolution set June 10 a deadline to put into effect an agreement on the tribunal.
According to Muallem, adopting the resolution "infringes on Lebanese sovereignty." He also deplored "the speed with which the Security Council decided on a tribunal without unanimity either at international or Lebanese levels."
"It would have been better to have a consensus among the Lebanese on the tribunal," he added.
"We hope that the Lebanese use dialogue to reach an agreement that will end divisions and guarantee security and stability," he said, adding that Damascus would continue to support everything aimed at creating consensus and working towards stability and peace in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the pro-Iranian Shiite movement Hizbullah condemned the U.N. vote as illegal and "an aggressive interference in (Lebanon's) internal affairs."
