WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on Tuesday to discuss Syria and other topics, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a briefing.

    Rice, who flew from Europe to New York on Monday, had a breakfast meeting with Annan in New York and Syria was an "important topic," McCormack said.

    "She recently had a lot of meetings in Europe. Syria and Lebanon was an important topic that they covered. She was able to reflect back some of what she was hearing on that," McCormack said.

    They also discussed Iraq, Iran's nuclear program, the upsurge in violence in Sudan and problems encountered by UN troops along Ethiopia's border, McCormack said.

    The meeting came before a UN team, led by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, is expected to submit its report on the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Friday. Enditem