DAMASCUS, 27 October 2005 — Syria’s hopes of escaping sanctions from the UN Security Council gained momentum yesterday with Russia, the country’s oldest ally, pledging that it will do all it takes to block any move in this direction.

Damascus also received enormous political support from the Arab League, Brazil, Cuba and other countries who all asserted their opposition to any attempt to further politicize a UN probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Ottri yesterday seemed quite confident that his country would overcome the piling international pressure and defeat all attempts to isolate it. “It is through our strong national unity, mutual confidence and trust between people and their political leadership, and our friends’ support we will be able to foil all sorts of attempts to impose sanctions against our nation or isolate it,” Ottri said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kalmynin yesterday told the media that his country “will do everything necessary to stop attempts to introduce sanctions against Syria.” He was referring to US and French statements warning Damascus that it would face economic sanctions if it did not cooperate with the UN investigation into the killing of Hariri.

Washington, London and Paris, meanwhile, vied yesterday to rally other UN Security Council members behind their efforts to pass a resolution backing likely sanctions against Syria.

The draft resolution, circulated since late Tuesday among council members, demands that Damascus cooperate fully with an international investigation into the assassination of Rafik Hariri last February.

The Arab League (AL), meanwhile, rejected any attempts by Security Council member states to impose sanctions against Syria, saying that any move in this regard would be “illogical and illegitimate.” “Imposing sanctions against Syria will be illegitimate since the UN inquiry is still on and none of the allegations against Damascus is proved yet. Such proposed sanctions will help nothing but adding to the region’s problems and political turmoil,” a statement issued by the AL said yesterday.

Brazil also stressed the importance of shunning attempts by some countries to impose economic sanctions against Syria without having any evidence about Damascus involvement in the assassination of Hariri.

Cuba also rejected the draft resolution. “We in Cuba will continue to strengthen our economic and political relations with Syria regardless of any resolutions,” said Deputy Cuban Parliament Speaker Jimmy Kormet Hernandez Pakiro in a press conference held here yesterday.

Meanwhile, Lebanon yesterday charged two Lebanese brothers, members of a Sunni sect, in connection with the murder of Hariri, judicial sources said.

— With input from agencies