US President George W. Bush on Friday called on Syria to fully cooperate with a UN inquiry into the killing of a former Lebanese prime minister and to stop trying to "intimidate and destabilise" the Lebanese government.
Bush accused the Syrian government of taking "disturbing steps" by arresting opposition activist Kamal al-Labwani "for serving as an advocate for democratic reform."
Bush criticised Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for delivering "a strident speech" that attacked both the Lebanese government and the integrity of Detlev Mehlis, the chief UN investigator of the February 14 killing of Rafik al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.
"The government of Syria must do what the international community has demanded - cooperate fully with the Mehlis investigation and stop trying to intimidate and destabilise the Lebanese government. The government of Syria must stop exporting violence and start importing democracy," Bush said in a speech in Pennsylvania.
The United States accuses Syria of allowing foreign insurgents to cross its border into Iraq, supporting Palestinian and Lebanese militants, and continued meddling in Lebanon. Mehlis has until December 15 to complete his inquiry and report to the UN Security Council.