Britain Steps Up Anti-Syria Drive : Gives Diplomats 1 Week to Leave, Calls on Soviets to Take Anti-Terror Stand

LONDON — Britain stepped up its diplomatic offensive against Syria on Saturday, telling the Syrian ambassador and his staff that they have only a week to get out of the country and calling on the Soviet Union to distance itself from such state-backed terrorism as Syria’s involvement in a foiled plot to blow up an Israeli airliner last April.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the decision to halve the 14 days originally given the Syrians to depart was made after official notification was received here that Syria had given 19 British diplomats only seven days to wind up their affairs in Damascus.

The spokesman also described as “unhelpful” a statement by the official Soviet news agency Tass that Britain’s accusations against Syria “were obviously invented.”

21 Ordered Out

Britain severed diplomatic relations with Syria on Friday after a terrorist trial produced overwhelming evidence of what Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe called “the wicked involvement of the Syrian government” in a bomb plot. Syrian Ambassador Loutof Allah Haydar and 20 other Syrian diplomats here were ordered to close their embassy and leave Britain.

The Syrians denied the charges and, in addition to ordering the British Embassy closed, further retaliated by closing their airspace, ports and territorial waters to Britain.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s government acted three hours after Nezar Hindawi, 32, a Jordanian national, was convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison for plotting to blow up an El Al Israel Airlines jetliner by smuggling a bomb aboard in the hand luggage of his pregnant girlfriend.

Signed statements by Hindawi produced in court, coupled with his own court testimony and independent intelligence information, resulted in a mass of evidence showing Syrian government sponsorship and deep involvement, including that of Haydar himself, in the plot.

Predictions of Reprisals

On Saturday, security measures were intensified at London’s Heathrow Airport amid predictions of possible guerrilla reprisals for Hindawi’s sentencing.

The Foreign Office spokesman said Saturday that a senior official explained the British position to Guerman G. Gventsadze, the Kremlin’s charge d’affaires here, at a meeting Friday afternoon.

“They (the Soviets) ought to be able to make a public statement disassociating themselves from state-supported terrorism,” he said. “The Soviet Union in the past has said there should be discussions on countering terrorism. . . . This is precisely the sort of terrorist case they should disassociate themselves from.”

British officials recalled that Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze, during a visit to London in July, agreed to join discussions about steps that might be taken to counter international terrorism.

More Helpful Response

“We hope . . . that they will be able to put out a more considered and helpful response,” the spokesman added.

But there was no sign of understanding from the Kremlin, which continued to back Syria, its principal ally in the Middle East.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander A. Bessmerntnykh told a news conference Saturday in Moscow that Britain’s accusations against Syria were “fully without foundation.”

“We have very strong reservations about the motives presented by London,” Bessmerntnykh said. “It will certainly not help the British government overall or its foreign policy in the Middle East.”

The Foreign Office in London welcomed the speedy reaction in support of its move that Britain received from the United States and Canada. Washington withdrew its ambassador from Damascus, the most serious gesture of diplomatic displeasure short of breaking ties, and Ottawa recalled its envoy “for consultations,” slightly less drastic than a full withdrawal.

Looking for Support

“We are urgently contacting our friends and allies and are looking for support,” the Foreign Office said.

Among Western nations, Britain and the United States have consistently led the drive for tough, united action against international terrorism.

Britain is expected to get a sympathetic hearing from its 11 European Communities partners Monday when the group’s foreign ministers discuss the matter during a scheduled meeting in Luxembourg.

However, West German Foreign Ministry officials Saturday were quick to scotch reports that Bonn had canceled a planned visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shareh.

“No dates have yet been set for the visit,” a West German Foreign Ministry spokesman said. “We are still discussing the matter with the Syrians.”

Invitation in August

Bonn’s foreign minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, extended the invitation to Shareh in August, and the visit was expected to take place within the next few months.

In urging international support for its action against Syria, Britain has specifically requested that high-level meetings planned with Syrian leaders be canceled to intensify Damascus’ diplomatic isolation.

In Italy, Defense Minister Giovanni Spadolini praised Britain on Saturday for its action, adding that “now the European Community is obliged to say its word.”

“The British decision represents a motive for thought and alarm for the whole of Europe,” Spadolini said.

Editorials in leading British papers backed the rupture with Syria, with some of them advocating additional measures.

Call for Sanctions

“Further steps must be taken,” the Times of London said, urging sanctions against Syrian Arab Airlines, the state airline, which, according to evidence at the Hindawi trial, was used to smuggle explosives, drugs and weapons into Britain.

Hindawi also stayed in hotel rooms officially assigned to the airline, according to evidence given at his trial.

The Times also called on the Soviet Union to “rein in its client,” referring to the Kremlin’s close ties with Syria.

The recently established Independent predicted that Britain’s trade relations with Syria would probably be broken and that British civilians could become targets for terrorist attack. But the newspaper backed the government’s actions, saying: “To have done nothing would have been far worse. The British response has been cool, considered and restrained. The government’s action merits the united support of the nation.”

Proof of Syrian Role

Hindawi’s three-week trial, in addition to providing one of the most detailed accounts of a terrorist plot ever placed on public view, offered for the first time definite proof linking Syria to a terrorist attack.

Although Syria has long been suspected of sponsoring such terrorist activities as the December, 1985, attacks on the Rome and Vienna airports and the hijacking of an Egyptian airliner to Malta a month earlier, no proof of Syrian fingerprints had been confirmed before the Hindawi trial.

In the trial that ended Friday, Hindawi was the central figure in the Syrian-organized plot to blow up an El Al jumbo jet last April 17, with a bomb timed to explode after the plane left Britain filled with passengers en route to Israel for the Passover holiday.

Stopped by Guard

Hindawi’s girlfriend, unaware that the bomb was in her hand luggage, passed unsuspectingly through all normal security checks and was stopped only by an alert El Al security guard in a final search.

During the trial, evidence showed direct involvement of the Syrian Embassy here, including the ambassador. It revealed that Hindawi had been issued a Syrian passport of a type usually given only to those traveling on official government business, that the Syrian Foreign Ministry had supported in writing Hindawi’s applications for British visas and that he was given logistical support by Syrian Arab Airlines.