Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak paid a surprise visit to Syria on Friday and held a closed-door meeting with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, the official SANA news agency reported.

SANA said the two leaders held talks on the latest developments in the region and consultations in the UN Security Council following the release of a UN report on the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

"President Bashar al-Assad has renewed Syria's keenness and readiness to continue cooperation with the international investigative committee," SANA said, quoting a statement issued after the talks.

The report said the two leaders also underscored "not to politicize the report" since the investigation is not finished yet.

The UN report, presented by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis after months of investigation over Hariri's death, found "converging evidence" of both Syrian and Lebanese involvement in the assassination.

Syria has denied any involvement in the killing and dismissed the report as politically motivated.

Meanwhile, a Syrian political source, who asked not to be named, told the press that Assad briefed Mubarak on the Syrian position on the Mehlis report and a draft UN resolution.

The resolution, circulated by the United States and France in the UN Security Council on Tuesday, threatens economic sanctions against Damascus if it fails to fully cooperate with the probe.

The Syrian government believed Mubarak could understand Syria's position and convey it to the international community, the source said.

Mubarak's visit was significant as it showed that the notion of Syria being isolated by the international community was not accurate, the source added.

Mubarak left Damascus Friday afternoon after his lightning visit.

Egypt, a key US ally in the region, has shown its willingness to defuse tension between Damascus and Washington and opposes any attempt to isolate Damascus.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit told reporters earlier before leaving for Syria with Mubarak that the situation in Syria crisis was "complicated" and that his government will advise Assad "to deal objectively and flexibly with all probabilities."

"We want to avoid another crisis in the Middle East," Abul Gheit said.

The Cairo-based Arab League on Wednesday joined Russia, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, in opposing any international sanction against Syria over Hariri's death.

Hariri, architect of Lebanon's post-war revival, was killed in a massive car bombing in central Beirut on Feb. 14. 

Syria withdrew its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon in late April under growing international pressure, after Hariri's death sparked widespread anti-Syrian protests in Lebanon and international outcry.