Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Syria's ambassador to the U.S. said his country is prepared to help quell the violence in neighboring Iraq and build national unity without the U.S. setting a schedule for the withdrawal of its forces.

The envoy, Imad Moustapha, said on ``Political Capital with Al Hunt'' that assistance from Syria to help halt what he described as ``unprecedented'' destruction and killing also doesn't hinge on a resumption of diplomatic ties with the U.S.

``We are not looking for a deal with the United States,'' he said in the interview, to air this weekend on Bloomberg Television. ``We are looking to help the Iraqis.''

While President George W. Bush said this week he is opposed to pulling out of Iraq before ``the mission is complete,'' an independent panel called the Iraq Study Group is likely to recommend a plan for ending involvement in its report due on Dec. 6. Moustapha said the ``U.S. enterprise'' in Iraq has become a ``grand fiasco.''

The report from the panel, which is studying U.S. options, isn't likely to fix a date for an American pullout from Iraq, yet will probably set benchmarks for ending military involvement, a person familiar with its deliberations said.

The Iraq Study Group's advice also is likely to include involving Syria and Iran in diplomacy to address the violence there, according to the person.

Iraq resumed diplomatic ties with Syria last week after a break of more than two decades.

Moustapha, 47, said in an earlier interview that his government had told the Iraq Study Group the situation in Iraq wouldn't stabilize unless the U.S. announces a readiness to withdraw its troops.

`Unprecedented' Bloodshed

``We are quite concerned about the unprecedented level of death, destruction and bloodshed in Iraq,'' Moustapha told Hunt. ``We fear that if Iraq will spiral down to a civil war, the repercussions would be terrible on the whole region.''

Syria's ``national priority'' is to preserve ``the territorial integrity of Iraq,'' Moustapha said.

The envoy took issue with a former Bush administration adviser's assertion that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wants a chaotic situation in Iraq.

``The last thing he wants his own citizens to see'' is that the toppling of the dictatorship in Iraq was successful, said Dan Senor, who was a spokesman for the now-defunct American occupation authority in Iraq.

Senor ``is totally misinformed,'' Moustapha said. ``Saddam Hussein was our arch-enemy.''

Lebanon Murders

Moustapha denied a report in the Economist magazine that said Syria's price for helping Iraq is for the United Nations to drop a probe into the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

``Absolutely not,'' Moustapha said, adding: ``Syria has said time and again that we have nothing to do whatsoever with this assassination.''

Asked to explain why five anti-Syrian activists have been assassinated in Lebanon, the latest Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel on Nov. 21, Moustapha described what he called a ``sinister'' coincidence.

``Every assassination had only one single result -- more instigation against Syria, more damage and hurt to Syria politically, and furthering the interests of the U.S. administration in Lebanon and those who are our political enemies,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Judy Mathewson in Washington at jmathewson@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 2, 2006 00:14 EST