 DAMASCUS - Syria will not cooperate with a UN-backed tribunal to try suspects in the killing of a former Lebanese premier if the court takes actions that undermine Syrian sovereignty, President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday. “We have nothing directly to do with the court. Any cooperation requested from Syria that compromises national sovereignty is totally rejected,” Assad told a parliament session in the Syrian capital.
| "You'll never take me alive!" |
“Some don’t differentiate between cooperation and abandoning sovereignty. The abandonment of sovereignty means that Syrian law no longer protects Syrian citizens,” Assad said.
Diplomats said the comments indicated that it would be difficult for Syria to cooperate with the tribunal if it indicts Syrian officials.
Assad has repeatedly denied any Syrian involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, but has said any Syrian found to be involved would be tried by a Syrian court.
| Except for him and his pals. There's bound to be a fall guy somewhere. |
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this week Washington might seek to force setting up of the tribunal by the UN Security Council after a political crisis in Beirut paralysed parliament and blocked any attempts to get Lebanon to approve the court. |