West looks for Wednesday vote on Lebanon court

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Western powers plan a U.N. Security Council vote on Wednesday to set up a court to prosecute the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, overriding Russia's objections.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the current council president, said on Tuesday the Western sponsors of the resolution establishing the tribunal, a highly divisive issue in Lebanon, had decided "to go for a vote tomorrow."

The resolution responds to a Lebanese government request, but the country's parliament has not approved the plan because speaker Nabih Berri, an opposition leader who disputes the government's legitimacy, has refused to convene the chamber.

Central to the dispute are Lebanon's ties with its larger neighbor Syria. Pro-government Lebanese leaders accuse Syria of killing Hariri and 22 other people with a bomb in 2005.

Damascus denies involvement but has indicated it will not cooperate with the court. Khalilzad warned Syria on Tuesday it would face "increased pressure" if it did not do so.

Despite warnings by pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and others that setting up the court could trigger a fresh wave of violence there, Western leaders say it is essential as a matter of principle to try Hariri's murderers.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin repeated on Tuesday Moscow's view that by invoking Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter to enforce the court's establishment, the resolution was usurping the Lebanese assembly's right to ratify the move.

"We do not believe that we should use Chapter 7 in situations where we do not absolutely have to do that, and we believe this is not that kind of a case," Churkin told reporters. Russia has long-standing close ties with Syria.