Syria urged to cooperate with U.N.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Bashar Assad of Syria rushed to Saudi Arabia on Sunday for a surprise meeting with Saudi leaders. The meeting occurred a day after he was quoted as saying that he would not cooperate with the U.N. investigation of the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.

Within hours of a meeting in Damascus, Syria, with the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, Assad flew to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. There, he joined a meeting and banquet with top members of the Saudi ruling family, including King Abdullah; Prince Naif, the interior minister; Prince Miqren, the chief of general intelligence; and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the secretary-general of the National Security Council, the government-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

In wording clearly meant to encourage Assad to cooperate, the royal family released a statement saying that at the meeting, Abdullah "affirmed the kingdom's desire for stronger relations between Syria and Lebanon in all fields, so that the interests of both countries and security of the region are protected."

It is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has prodded Syria to ease relations with Lebanon and the United Nations. In March, Assad went to Riyadh seeking support for his determination to keep Syrian troops in Lebanon, but he was bluntly rebuffed by Abdullah, who was then crown prince. In November, the Saudis brokered a deal in which Syria allowed some government officials to meet with U.N. investigators.

Last week, U.N. investigators asked to directly interview Assad and Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa in the killing. In an interview published Saturday in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Osboa, Assad was quoted as saying that he intended to reject the request, citing presidential immunity.