Rice meets Syrian minister in U.S. policy shift

By Sue Pleming

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Syria's foreign minister in a major shift in U.S. strategy on Thursday, and called on Damascus to stop foreign fighters crossing into Iraq.

U.S. President George W. Bush's administration has dropped its once resolute opposition to high-level contacts with Syria and Iran as it seeks ways to end the Iraq conflict.

Rice said her meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh -- her first with him since she became secretary of state more than two years ago -- was "professional and business-like".

Moualem said the meeting on the sidelines of a major international conference on Iraq was "frank and constructive".

"I didn't lecture him, he didn't lecture me," Rice told reporters. "The Syrians clearly say that stability in Iraq is in their interest, but actions will speak louder than words and we will have to see how this develops."

Washington has accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to enter Iraq through the long border between the two countries and is pressing for an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

DISAGREEMENTS

The United States and Syria have a long list of disagreements and have supported opposing sides in Lebanon, which is divided over the country's geopolitical alignment.