Rice to Meet Syrian Offical

Curious, isn't it? I just hope she doesn't wear a hijab to the meeting.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expects to have a "substantive" meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem today or tomorrow, reversing a more than two-year-old policy not to talk with Damascus at a high level, U.S. officials said yesterday.

The officials, traveling with Miss Rice to this Egyptian Red Sea resort for an international conference on Iraq, also offered unusual praise for the Syrians for taking "positive" steps to guard their border with Iraq. The border has been a popular route for foreign fighters seeking to enter Iraq.

Miss Rice also may meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, diplomats here said. The secretary said she is willing to participate in such a meeting, but Tehran had not decided.

"There is a good possibility for a substantive discussion on Iraq" when Miss Rice meets with Mr. Muallem on the sidelines of the Sharm el Sheik forum, a senior State Department official said.