BEIRUT, Lebanon, October 27(Lebanonwire) -- A UN spokesperson announced Wednesday that German lead investigator into the Rafik Hariri probe Detlev Mehlis will be back in Lebanon on Monday looking for more cooperation from Syria, daily Al Mustaqbal said Thursday.

The UN commission will be studying the details of the cooperation it expects from Syria, the daily said.

US representative in the UN John Bolton announced Wednesday that Mehlis should be able to interview any Syrian “including President Bashar Assad, because no one is above the law.”

“Assad has made time to address the media, and if he could do that, he could certainly dedicate some of his time to judge Mehlis,” Bolton said.

Bolton indicated that the US-French-British Security Council proposal on Syria “only includes sanctions against suspects” adding, “we don’t have a proposal to inflict collective punishment on Syria.”

Bolton pointed out that article 41 of the UN Security Council (UNSC) empowers the body to use non-military methods including economic sanctions and cutting off diplomatic ties with Syria, in order to enforce its resolutions in the event of non-cooperation.

White House spokesperson Scott MCclelan had renewed the US administration’s call for a ministerial-level meeting at the UNSC next week, to evaluate the findings of the Mehlis report.

“What took place cannot be taken lightly,” MCclelan said in reference to Mehlis’s report on the involvement of Lebanese and Syrian security officials in the Hariri murder, adding, “Syria has to fully cooperate.”

Syria’s UN representative Faisal Mikdad heavily criticized the UNSC proposal calling it “a political announcement against Syria that reflects US, British and French intentions and which are not new.”

The Washington Post had reported that Assad vowed to prosecute any Syrian involved in the probe, in a letter he addressed to Washington last Sunday.

In his letter, Asaad reaffirmed his country’s denial of any involvement in the Hariri murder and warned that additional pressures on Syria will have “dangerous repercussions on the region.”

US Foreign Secretary Spokesperson Adam Erely commented on the letter saying, “once again Syria shows how far it stands apart from the international community, failing to align its policies with it and to understand the need to fully cooperate with the investigation.”

“It might be a little late in the game to try to compensate for lost time,” Erely said in reference to Assad’s latest statement.

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