By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
The Associated Press
Thursday, May 3, 2007; 11:56 AM
SHARM El-SHEIK, Egypt -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said her meeting with the Syrian foreign minister, the first high-level talks in years between the United States and Syria, was "professional" and focused on how to improve security in Iraq.
Rice met with Walid Moallem for a half-hour on the sidelines of a two-day conference about Iraq's future, taking the opportunity to air U.S. concerns about Syria's notoriously porous border with its neighbor.
"I didn't lecture him and he didn't lecture me," Rice said afterward. "I would say it was professional. It was businesslike."
Rice said she was not seeking a similar meeting with Iran's foreign minister.
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Rice has also said she was willing to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, after years of accusations and name-calling between the nations. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had also expressed interest in such a meeting. Full article
Well it looks like we may have a new strategy on the diplomatic front. Its long overdue. The war in Iraq will be much easier to wage without foreign fighters coming in through Syria and things would be much more stable for Israel if we can talk Syria into behaving. Lets just hope its not too little too late.
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