ARAB AFFAIRS - Oct 26 - Russia And Arab League Oppose Syria Sanctions.

Russia and the Arab League opposes an implicit Franco-American threat of sanctions against Syria, contained in a tough draft UN resolution demanding Syria's full co-operation with the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri. The resolution sought a travel ban and financial sanctions against individual suspects in

the murder, but also said the UN would consider "further measures" under the UN charter's article on sanctions "if needed, to ensure compliance". It would also give the international investigation new powers to travel and collect evidence in Syria. A Russian FM spokesman warned it would do "everything necessary to stop attempts at declaring sanctions against Syria", while the Arab League saw no "logic or legitimacy in imposing any sanctions ... on the basis of incomplete accusations". US ambassador to the UN John Bolton, suggested Russia's position was not inconsistent with the current draft text, which did not call for sanctions against Syria now. Meanwhile, the UN warned that the alleged flow of weapons from Syria to armed Palestinian groups inside Lebanon could undermine efforts to bolster its political independence. A report prepared by the UN's special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, for UN Sec Gen Kofi Annan, said there were indications of "an increasing influx of weaponry and personnel from Syria to some of these groups". But it is still unclear whether the text will garner the necessary nine votes in favour, and no veto. Were it to pass, diplomats do not rule out further proposals in light of Annan's new report. But in raising the pressure on Damascus, western allies are likely to adopt a step-by-step approach, gauging international support at each stage. The new Annan report is an assessment of compliance with last year's resolution 1559, which called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon and the disbanding of militias. It said the Lebanese government had recently taken measures to restrict the flow of weaponry to Palestinian groups, and the Lebanese army had last month increased its presence at the border to stop arms smuggling from Syria, after reportedly having intercepted several shipments. The army had also strengthened its positions around the camps where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, refugees from the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars and their descendants, live in often cramped and difficult conditions. Lebanon's security forces never enter the camps, where armed Palestinian factions are effectively in control. The Lebanese government, however, started disarmament talks with Palestinian factions earlier this month, though some of the militant groups have refused to co-operate. On the broader issue of Syrian interference in Lebanon, Annan said most reports of Syrian intelligence activity were "exaggerated", although it was possible that some Syrian intelligence officers had made a few fleeting visits to Lebanon after their withdrawal, and it was "probable" that they had maintained a network of phone contacts to "bolster their influence and subtly manipulate the political environment".