Syria has rejected calls to provide documents and ignored interview requests in the U.N. probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a top U.N. official said Thursday.
German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, the chief of the probe, believes the Syrian silence has "considerably slowed down" the work of the commission probing Hariri's death, Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari told the U.N. Security Council.
After hearing Gambari's briefing, the council released a statement that urged all states to cooperate, "especially those who are yet to respond adequately."
On his part, Lebanese foreign minister Fawzi Salloukh said Friday it was important to unveil truth of the assassination. Salloukh, in a statement after the initial report, said that "We are awaiting the final report of Mehlis to know the truth." He noted that the government had underlined thursday the need to uncover the people behind the February 14 massive blast of Hariri's motorcade in downtown Beirut.
