Lebanon's president Emile Lahoud on Friday responded to a hard-hitting United Nations report calling for an independent international inquiry into the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the former prime minister, by saying that everything should be done to uncover the truth.

His comments indicated a shift in the official position towards an independent inquiry into the killing. The Lebanese authorities had until now rejected such an inquiry. Mahmoud Hammoud, Lebanon's foreign minister, separately criticised the toughly worded UN report as an infringement on the role of Lebanese state. The report was based on the findings of a mission led by Peter Fitzgerald, deputy Irish police commissioner.