UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday played down press reports quoting Chief investigator Detlev Mehlis as saying that the Syrian authorities were "definitely" behind the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, stressing that Mehlis did not go further than what he said in his first report.The Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat quoted Mehlis over the weekend as saying "yes" when asked "Do you feel Syria is definitely behind Hariri's killing?" Asked by the newspaper if he meant the Syrian Government, Mehlis said "well, let's say Syrian authorities." "The Syrian authorities are not the Syrian Government," Dujarric told the daily press briefing in answer to a question.
"I would encourage you to read the full and exact transcript of the interview because the quotes which were identified as being Mr. Mehlis' are in fact erroneous," Dujarric said about the newspaper interview.
"If you look into the full transcript of the interview, you will see that Mr. Mehlis "did not go any further than in what he said in his first report," he added. Mehlis said in his first report issued last October that "there is converging evidence pointing at both Lebanese and Syrian military intelligence in this terrorist act." Mehlis further said in the same report that "while the Syrian authorities, after initial hesitation, have cooperated to a limited degree with the commission, several interviewees tried to mislead the investigation by giving false or inaccurate statements." "My reading (of the interview) is that he (Mehlis) is not prejudging the outcome of the investigation, but Mr. Mehlis is much aware that the investigation will continue under his chairmanship until we find a successor, which should be shortly," Dujarric said.