Syrian ruling party official says Khaddam's "false statements" a setup.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

Syrian Ba'th Party Central Committee member and People's Assembly Constitutional Committee Chairman Faysal Kulthum has discussed the recent interview given by former Vice-President Abd-al-Khalim to Al-Arabiya TV in a three-minute live satellite interview with presenter Tawfiq Taha in the Doha studio broadcast by Al-Jazeera TV on 2 January.

Asked whether the statements by Khaddam were received with "listening ears" by the UN International Investigation Commission into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri, Kulthum replied: "I believe that when Khaddam gave this interview in the French …