LONDON, 23 February 2005 — Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal has said that countries should not hastily accuse Syria of involvement in the killing of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He also dismissed calls for an immediate international probe into last Monday’s assassination, saying Beirut should be allowed to hold its own investigation.
“We cannot accuse one side before we know the facts,” he told Arab journalists in London. “Those who accuse Syria without evidence will be open to criticism.”
Lebanese opposition leaders have bluntly accused Damascus of involvement in the Beirut car bombing which killed the former premier and several of his bodyguards.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, speaking at an EU foreign ministers’ meeting, said there was a “high level of suspicion about the potential involvement of Syria”.
