Syria May Aid Un Inquiry Into Hariri Murder

The Syrian government signalled yesterday that it would allow United Nations investigators to talk to president Bashar Assad about the assassination of the Lebanese prime minister, Rafiq Hariri.

The UN investigators, who acquired a new head this week, Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz, are seeking to bring charges against senior members of the Syrian government suspected of implication in last year's murder.

Mahdi Dakhl-Allah, the Syrian information minister, was reported yesterday to have ruled out an interview with Mr Assad but he said later he had been misinterpreted. He said a meeting was possible: "There is a difference between a questioning and an audience," he said.

The Syrian government also agreed that its foreign minister, Farouq al-Shara, and other officials can be interviewed in Vienna next week. The softening of tone was noted by the Bush administration but a US spokesman at the UN said there would be no lessening of pressure on Syria to cooperate. "We feel this kind of obfuscation is unacceptable, and in the end it is not unfettered cooperation," he said.

In an interview with Sky television, former Syrian vice-president Abdel-Halim Khaddam suggested Mr Assad could have been involved in ordering Mr Hariri's killing. "In my belief, yes, my personal belief is that he ordered it. But at the end of the day there is an investigation. They must give the final decision," he said.