Mubarak expects Hariri murder investigation to continue

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak expected in Cairo following his meeting with the Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Sharaa that the UN investigation into the assassination of Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri to continue for more than one year.

Mubarak said that the investigation may last a long time between six months and one year, and may take longer time.

Replying to a question on his assessment of the situation after the talks he had held with Sharaa, the Egyptian president said "I hope that this matter will end for the good." For his part, the Syrian foreign minister accused sides inside Lebanon and outside it of working to internationalize "the Lebanese issue." He added that the internationalization of the Lebanese issue is being used in the UN investigation on the murder of Hariri.

Sharaa's statement came upon the assertion made by the chairman of the parliamentary majority Saad al-Hariri that a Lebanese court may not able to assume this case. A matter which makes it imperative to establish an international court to be founded within one year period, at the most.

In this context, the leader of the opposition in the Lebanese parliament Michael Aawn expressed in a statement to al-Jazeera satellite TV on Tuesday his support for founding a Lebanese- International mixed court into the murder of Hariri. He said that the Lebanese element in the court will ensure transparency in its work while the international presence will ensure "power and safety."