LONDON - Syria will face "very serious consequences" if it fails to cooperate with the UN probe into the assassination of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Monday.

Straw was in New York for a meeting of the UN Security Council, which was expected to decide on a resolution that urges Syria to detain any of its nationals suspected in the killing and allows the body to slap economic and political sanctions on Damascus if it fails to comply.

A UN report on the February 14 assassination, released earlier this month, implicated top Syrian officials and accused Damascus of being uncooperative over the probe.

"I would be very surprised if we do not come out with a resolution where there is a good majority," Straw told BBC radio from New York.

He swatted claims that Britain and the United States were driving the move, saying French President Jacques Chirac was at the forefront of forming an international consensus.

"We had discussions last night," the foreign secretary said.

"There's always some modification of wording that takes place, but the key fundamental of any resolution, which is the requirement of the Syrian government fully to co-operate, that's fundamental."

"The Syrian government should now be aware that if this goes through and they fail to co-operate, then very serious consequences by way of sanctions on individuals and perhaps more widely may follow."

Syria has denied any involvement in the February bomb blast that killed Hariri and 20 others on the Beirut seafront.

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