CAIRO - French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Thursday that Paris opposed the destabilisation of Syria because of the UN probe into the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.

He told a Cairo press conference after talks with President Hosni Mubarak that it would be an "error" to impose an international blockade or take other measures against Syria before the UN investigation is completed.

The UN probe headed by German magistrate Detlev Mehlis into the February 14 killing of Hariri in a Beirut bomb blast that was widely blamed on Damascus is due to report to Secretary General Kofi Annan in late October.

"The judge should do his work in total independence until the end in order for justice to be done and for the culprits to be found and, if possible, punished," said Douste-Blazy.

"We are all waiting for this report and when are informed, we will adopt our position," said his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Abul Gheit.

On Sunday, Mubarak praised Syria's cooperation with the probe into the Hariri murder, at a meeting in the Egyptian capital with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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