DAMASCUS, Nov. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sent a strong signal over the UN probe into the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in a speech, the pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat said on Friday.

    "The president chooses resistance," said the London-based al-Hayat.

    In a defiant keynote speech televised on Thursday, Assad hit back at foreign pressures over the Hariri case, despite a vow to fully cooperate with the UN investigation team.

    He reasserted Syria's innocence in the crime and lashed out at"plots of enemies", saying "Syria refuses to compromise on its sovereignty and to cede to the pressures of the great powers.

    "Meanwhile, Assad expressed distrust of the UN probe led by chief investigator Detlev Mehlis, rebuking that "instead of looking for the truth, the commission is relying on a false witness."

    He mentioned two choices for his country -- resistance or chaos,asserting "the price of resistance is much less than the price ofchaos."

    The hard-line speech, less anticipated beforehand, immediately drew criticism from western powers.

    Shortly after the speech, French President Jacques Chirac urged Syria to cooperate with the UN probe and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that it should "stop trying to negotiateand cooperate."

    "The continuous pressure from certain international circles and Syria's incapability to persuade them that it is innocent and really wants cooperation forced Assad to adopt such a tough position," Razzouk al-Ghawi, a veteran correspondent and political analyst in Syria, told Xinhua via phone on Friday."No matter what we do and how much we cooperate, the resultafter a month will be that 'Syria did not cooperate'... but wehave to do our duty," Assad said in his speech.

    The Syrian president did not directly refer to a request by Mehlis through the United Nations to question six Syrian senior security and intelligence officers in Lebanon, reportedly including his brother-in-law Assef Shawkat.

    Assad said Mehlis turned down an invitation to discuss cooperation in Damascus and refused to question the Syrian officials in the Egyptian capital of Cairo or UN offices in Syria."There are differences over the place of questioning and not the questioning itself. Although the president did not make a response to Mehlis, it doesn't mean he has refused," said Ghawi.Meanwhile, the Syrian government managed to enlist support from the mass to be a hard-liner.

    Thousands of Syrian people flooded to the auditorium of Damascus University where Assad delivered the speech on Thursday,exhibiting their support while similar mass demonstrations were witnessed in several provinces across the country.

    Thursday evening, young Syrians drove dozens of cars in amotorcade on the main Mezza street in Damascus, waving nationalflags and honking horns, in a show of support for their leader."The people support their government to be tough and they arenot afraid of US sanctions," said a defense ministry official oncondition of anonymity.

    Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Dardari showed his confidence a week ago that Syria could survive any economic sanctions, noting that Syria is self-sufficient in oil and food.

    "Syria has affluent food supply, enough oil and gas and other mineral resources such as phosphate, and we don't fear blockade,"echoed Imad Din al-Jaja, director of public relations department of the official al-Baath newspaper.

    However, diplomats here are not quite optimistic about the looming crisis, fearing further isolation and possible chaos would prevail if international sanctions were applied."Sanctions are definitely negative," said Ghawi.

    "Many countries and multinational companies have projects oragreement with Syria and sanctions will harm their interests," headded.

    The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1636 on Oct. 31, demanding Damascus fully cooperate with Hariri's murderin a February car bomb blast in Beirut or face "further action". It also authorizes Mehlis to report anytime he found Damascusnot cooperative before the deadline of a final report on Dec. 15."We are waiting for Mehlis' reaction to the president's speech,and the coming days will be crucial and sensitive," said Ghawi.Enditem