[JURIST] Syria is ready to assist the UN investigation into the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [Wikipedia profile], a Syrian foreign ministry official told AFP Friday. Lebanese news reports said that German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis [JURIST report] would meet "a Syrian representative" in Geneva within 24 hours, citing a UN official in New York. Syria has faced international criticism for failure to cooperate with the probe, including a UN Security Council call [UN press release] for "all countries and sides, especially those who did not respond appropriately so far, to cooperate fully in order to accelerate the work and the mission of the investigation committee." US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton [Wikipedia profile] said, "There is no doubt from the briefing we received today that Syria's lack of cooperation with the Mehlis investigation has considerably slowed down the Mehlis commission's work. This lack of cooperation is unacceptable." Damascus had previously maintained that their constitution prohibited Syrian officials from being questioned by foreigners. AFP has more. Arabic News has local coverage.