DAMASCUS, Feb 16 (AFP) - Lebanon's political masters in Syria were in the full glare of global suspicion Wednesday over the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, as the United States again demanded that Damascus pull its troops out of its smaller neighbor.
Washington, while stopping short of pointing the finger, has made no secret of its suspicions over Hariri's death and has recalled its ambassador to Syria, Margaret Scobey, for urgent consultations.
Lebanese opposition figures, who have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of Syria since Hariri stepped down as prime minister four months ago, have openly accused Damascus of killing him and 14 others in Beirut on Monday.
Arch-foe Israel too has not ruled out that Syria may have had a hand in the death of Hariri, who resigned in a row with pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud over Damascus' role in Lebanon's political affairs and the presence of 14,000 troops on its soil.
However, Syria's ambassador to France, Siba Nasser, said her country had no role in the killing of Hariri.
"Syria had nothing to do with it," she told French radio. Nasser said Hariri "was a big friend of Syria" and asserted that Damascus "does not want a permanent or indefinite presence in Lebanon."
She said Syrian troops were there at the request of the Lebanese government and if ever it asked them to withdraw, "well, then, we would leave."
But US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns, in Beirut for Hariri's funeral, called for the "complete and immediate" withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and demanded an investigation into Hariri's murder.
"Mr Hariri's death should give renewed impetus to achieving a free, independent and sovereign Lebanon,"
"What that means is the immediate and complete implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, and what that means is the complete and immediate withdrawal by Syria."
Scobey, who had still not left Damascus, met with Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara and delivered a letter from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the official SANA news agency said.
The letter focused on "developments in Lebanon, Iraq and the (Middle East) peace process", SANA said, adding that Shara had given Scobey a reply for Rice.
In Damascus, government daily newspaper Tishrin spoke of Hariri's murder as a "tragedy striking Lebanon and Syria" and referred to widespread fears in both countries that Lebanon could return to civil war.
Tishrin also pointed the finger at Israel, technically still at war with Lebanon and Syria, without actually accusing the Jewish state of killing Hariri.
"Israel cannot be forgiven for the blood of Hariri, nor for the blood of the Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian people, because (the country that) commits murder in the streets of Damascus, Beirut, Tunis, Paris and Rome is fully capable, with the technological means it possesses, to commit the attack.
"Who profits" from the crime, the newspaper asked. "The losers are Lebanon, Syria and the Arab nation, while the big winner is Israel."
Fayez Sayegh, editor-in-chief of another official daily, Ath-Thawra, said the "crime was not the murder of an efficient and ubiquitous leader. It is the horrible attempt to kill a nation (Lebanon)."
But whatever comments Damascus may say about the "crimes" of others, it is clearly in the heat of the international spotlight.
As one Syrian analyst said Wednesday: "Whoever the authors were, it looks like Syria is going to have to pay the price."
The US administration, which imposed sanctions on Damascus last year, had already been ratcheting up its rhetoric against Syria in recent months over its presence in Lebanon, alleged support for terrorism and interference in Iraq.
And US officials said Tuesday they were consulting with members of the UN Security Council on a response to the bombing and mulling additional sanctions against Syria if it did not resolve US complaints over a range of issues.
On Tuesday, the Security Council condemned the "terrorist" attack and asked for a report into its "circumstances, causes and consequences."
Syria has been under additional pressure since the Security Council passed a resolution in September, put forward by France and the United States, for it to cease influencing Lebanese politics.

02/16/2005 15:51 GMT - AFP