 |
|
Straw,
center, was engaged in consultations, minutes before the session.
(Reuters)
|
But
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice put Damascus on notice that
"failure to comply with these demands will lead to serious
consequences from the international community."
The
United States had led calls for Syria to be held "accountable"
for its alleged role in last February's assassination of Hariri after
the UN inquiry led by Mehlis lambasted a lack of cooperation from
Damascus.
But
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has denied any Syrian involvement in
the murder, asserting that any Syrian individual implicated in the
killing would be punished as a traitor and possibly sent to an
international court.
"The
Syrian authorities must today cooperate fully with the commission so
that full light is shed as quickly as possible on the attack that took
the life of Rafiq Hariri," said French Foreign Minister Philippe
Douste-Blazy.
"Syria's
leaders must understand that the Security Council, and through it the
international community as a whole, will not tolerate anything less than
immediate and complete cooperation, and that it will draw the
consequences of any failure by the Syrian authorities to meet their
obligations," he added.
 |
|
Al-Shara,
right, speaks with Annan before the session. (Reuters)
|
British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also warned Damascus that the council's
"patience has limits".
Failure
to comply, he added "would consider further action".
He
said the resolution sent a "very strong message" to Damascus.
"Syria
must detain those Syrian officials or individuals whom the commission
considers as suspected of involvement in the planning, organization,
sponsoring, organizing or perpetrating of this terrorist act, and make
them fully available to the commission," the resolution said.
"The
(Mehlis) commission shall have the authority to determine the location
and modalities for interview of Syrian officials and individuals it
deems relevant to the enquiry," the text added.
It
also insists that "Syria not interfere in Lebanese domestic
affairs, either directly or indirectly, refrain from any attempt aimed
at destabilizing Lebanon, and respect scrupulously the sovereignty,
territorial integrity, unity and political independence of this
country."
Syria
was represented at the meeting by its Foreign Minister Faruq Al-Shara
and foreign affairs legal adviser Riad Daudi.
The
special session at foreign-minister level to vote on the
Western-sponsored resolution opened almost an hour later than already
scheduled.
The
meeting got under way after last-minute consultations by the British,
French and US foreign ministers who offered last-minute concessions
dropping a a reference to a specific threat of international sanctions
against Damascus to secure unanimous support for the draft they
co-sponsored.
British,
French and US foreign ministers offered to drop a specific threat of
economic sanctions against Syria to secure unanimous support for the
draft resolution.
