UNITED NATIONS - U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Friday he sees
momentum in the UN Security Council for a resolution to unilaterally
establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

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In an interview with the Associated Press, Khalilzad said "I believe this can be done relatively soon given the request from Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora for a binding council resolution and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's statement that there appear to be no domestic options left."

The suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut in
February 2005 sparked huge protests against Syria, which was widely seen as culpable.

Syria denied involvement but was forced to withdraw its troops from
Lebanon, ending a 29-year presence.

The issue of an international tribunal has since fueled a deep political
conflict between Saniora's Western-backed government and the Syrian-backed, Hezbollah-led opposition. The conflict has taken on an increasingly sectarian tone and erupted into street battles, killing 11 people in recent months.

The draft resolution, circulated late Thursday by the U.S., Britain and
France, would put in force an agreement on establishing the tribunal that has been signed by the United Nations and the Lebanese government.

The agreement calls for the creation of a tribunal outside Lebanon with a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor.The resolution would be under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which deals with
threats to international peace and can be militarily enforced.

It was circulated following Saniora's formal request for Security Council action, which cited the refusal of opposition-aligned Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to convene a session to ratify the U.N.-approved statutes to create the tribunal.

Since the resolution would put in force an already existing agreement between the UN and Saniora's government - rather than imposing a new UN tribunal - diplomats said the co-sponsors were hopeful it would not face strong opposition from Moscow, Beijing or other council members.

Khalilzad was asked about a closed-door meeting Thursday where the five
permanent veto-wielding council members - the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China - discussed the Lebanon draft.

"I think there is a momentum to move forward, to respond favorably to the
request made by ... Saniora, to assist the Lebanese to begin to implement the agreement that they made with the United Nations for the establishment of the tribunal," the U.S. ambassador said.

China's deputy UN ambassador Liu Zhenmin told reporters: "We have not taken a position yet. We are still in consultation with other members of the council to find a solution acceptable to everybody.

Khalilzad addressed critics of the resolution, who have warned of the risk of fighting and possible civil war if the tribunal is created by the United Nations. "I have said that those risks have to be compared with the risks of not establishing the tribunal," he said.

The prosecutor needs the tribunal to be established so that he can get more cooperation from people, Khalilzad said.

"To deter further attacks, the tribunal needs to be established so people know that if they do something like that they will be brought to justice.
And it's also important for deterrence over the longer term and for those who have committed political murder to be brought to justice - and long-term stability in Lebanon requires it," he said.

"We're going to work with others to respond favorably as soon as possible," Khalilzad added.