UNITED NATIONS, Oct 25 (AFP) - A draft UN resolution co-sponsored by the United States, France and Britain demands that Syria arrest any of its nationals suspected of involvement in the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, according to a copy of the text obtained by AFP Tuesday.

"Syria must detain those Syrian officials or individuals whom the (UN enquiry) commisson might consider as suspected of having been involved in this terrorist act, and make them fully and unconditionally available to the commission," it added.

The draft was worked out by the US and French UN envoys -- John Bolton and Jean-Marc de la Sabliere -- after the Security Council heard a briefing by UN chief investigator Detlev Mehlis on his damning report implicating senior Syrian and Lebanese security officials in last February's slaying.

It also demanded that the Mehlis commission be allowed by Damascus "to interview Syrian officials or other individuals that the commission deems relevant to the enquiry outside Syria and/or outside the presence of any other Syrian official if the commission so requests."

The draft also called for sanctions by all states against all individuals designated or who might be designated in the future by the panel as suspects in the murder.

The sanctions include a travel ban and a freeze of assets.

The draft also said Syria must stop meddling in Lebanese domestic affairs, directly or indirectly, refrain from any attempt aimed at destabilizing Lebanon and respect its neighbor's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence.

The text also stipulated that to ensure the Mehlis panel's effectiveness it must enjoy full cooperation from Syrian authorities, including full access to all information and evidence in their possession as well as freedom of movement throughout Syrian territory.

The commission must also have "the authority to collect any additional information and evidence ... pertaining to this terrorist act, as well as to interview all officials and other persons" in Syria, it said.

The draft was to be submitted to other members of the 15-member UN Security Council.

Earlier UN diplomats said sanctions against the Syrian government appeared unlikely at this stage given that several council members, including veto-wielding China and Russia, are generally reluctant to resort to sanctions by the Security Council.

Damascus has denied any role in the Hariri slaying.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday urged "balanced action" from the world community toward Syria "so as not to allow new flashpoints of tension in the region."

During a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, Putin welcomed Syria's stated readiness for "broad cooperation with the international commission investigating the circumstance of the murder" of Hariri, the Kremlin press office said.

Meanwhile, in some of his most explicit comments on the Hariri murder, Detlev Mehlis told reporters Tuesday that the conclusion of his report released last week was "that the assassination was organized by Syrian and Lebanese security officials."

The German prosecutor, who is leading a 30-member enquiry team, dodged a question on whether Assad's brother, Maher, who is chief of the presidential guard, and his brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, who heads military intelligence, were indeed suspects.

An early draft of the Mehlis report had quoted an unidentified witness as saying that the two men were among top Syrian and Lebanese security officials who plotted the Hariri murder.

But Mehlis said last week that the two names were subsequently taken out of the report because of "a presumption of innocence" and not to give the impression that these allegations were "an established fact."

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