Xinhua - English

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attends the opening of an international conference on Iraq, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, May 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on Thursday afternoon at this Egyptian resort on the sideline of a ministerial meeting of the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), informed sources told Xinhua.

The sources said Muallem was accompanied by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit into a meeting room for bilateral talks, where Rice was waiting.

The two foreign ministers held face-to-face talks for 30minutes. Muallem told Xinhua sources afterwards that his talks with Rice was "constructive" and the atmosphere was good.

Muallem said their talks dealt with both how to help Iraq regain security and stability, including the issue of infiltrated militants on the Syrian-Iraqi border alleged by the United States, and bilateral relations between Washington and Damascus.

Muallem also said talks with Rice didn't deal with the Lebanese issue.

Rice told journalists afterwards that her talks with Muallem was businesslike and focused on the Iraqi issue. "I would say it was professional, businesslike. It was very concrete."

She said she raised the issue of border security with the Syrian foreign minister and urged Syria to do more to ensure a secure Syrian-Iraqi border.

"Syrians clearly say that they believe that stability in Iraqis in their interest. Acts will speak louder than words, and I think we will have to see how this develops," she said.

Rice, before coming to this Egyptian resort, said she was willing to meet with Muallem and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who also attended the ICI meeting.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem leaves a session of an international conference on Iraq in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Muallem, who has said he was willing to meet Rice during an interview with a Lebanese TV on Monday, arrived at the Red Sea resort just several hours before his meeting with Rice.

It was the first meeting of such kind since November of 2004,when then outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell held a bilateral meeting with former Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara.

The two sides met at a similar, yet small-scale, international meeting on Iraq, which gathered senior diplomats from about 20nations and regional and international organizations.

Powell and al-Shara discussed issues related to border security, relations between Syria and U.S. forces in Iraq.

Relations between Washington and Damascus have been strained since 2003 as Syria strongly objected the U.S. invasion of Iraq and blamed the U.S.-led occupation for the turbulences in the country ever after.

The United States, on the contrary, has been accusing Syria of supporting terror organizations and doing little to stop weapons and militants from infiltrating into Iraq and destabilize situation there.

Damascus supports the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement which Washington labels as terror organizations. Syria, however, insists that they are legitimate resistant movements.

U.S.-Syrian ties further deteriorated following the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri in February 2005 after which Washington withdrew its ambassador to Damascus for its alleged role in the killing.

Syria denied any involvement in the murder although a UN probe has implicated senior Syrian officials in the case.

Washington, which had since refused high-level contacts with Damascus, has been under pressure to engage directly with Syria to help quiet down upgrading turmoil in Iraq.

The U.S. bipartisan Iraq Study Group has urged the Bush administration to engage in talks with Syria and Iran over Iraq.

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Thursday that the meeting between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem on the sidelines of a conference on Iraq is a conversation rather than a formal negotiation.

"Any conversations would not be bilateral discussions. They would not be formal negotiations," White House spokesman Tony Snow said of the meeting of Rice and Muallem.