Syrian President Bashar Assad insisted in an interview published Thursday that his country is "100 percent innocent" in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and said Damascus has "no understanding for such crimes." Many in neighboring Lebanon blame Syria for the Feb. 14 assassination, a charge that Syria denies. Assad's latest comments came days before chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis is due to report on his findings. "We are 100 percent innocent," Assad was quoted as telling the weekly Die Zeit. "We have absolutely no understanding for such crimes."