 United Nations investigators probing the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri cannot meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dakhl-Allah said on Thursday.
| "Nope. Nope. Can't do it. He's washing his hair that day... And he'll be out of town... His... ummm... grandmother died..." |
Asked if Syria rejected holding a meeting between Assad and the investigators, Dakhl-Allah told Egyptian radio: "Certainly, because the issue is related to Syria's sovereignty."
| "Y'can't be sovreign if yer gonna have people askin' you all sorts of questions!" |
The team conducting an inquiry into Hariri's death in a Beirut bomb blast on Feb. 14 has been trying to interview Assad. Diplomats had said previously the Syrian leader had refused. "Syria is committed to its independence and sovereignty. This is a red line that cannot be crossed," Dakhl-Allah added. |