U.S. Will Participate in Meetings With Syria, Iran About Iraq

Feb 27, 09:42 PM

Current Headlines: WASHINGTON _ The Bush administration reversed course Tuesday and agreed to participate in high-level meetings with Syria and Iran as a way to find a solution to the war in Iraq.

U.S. officials left open a possibility that the meetings could lead to unofficial sidebar talks with Iran over uranium enrichment.

Team Bush caved to international pressure to meet with the Syrians and Iranians as the Iraqi government invited the world's leading industrialized nations and its neighboring countries to discuss Iraq's security, reconciliation and economy.

"We hope that all governments will seize this opportunity to improve their relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"Iraq's neighbors, as well as the international community, have a clear role to play in supporting the Iraqi government's efforts to promote peace and national reconciliation within the country," Rice added.

Senior envoys will meet first in March, and Rice and her foreign minister counterparts will sit down together in April, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Before Rice made the formal announcement, the State Department notified key ambassadors around Washington of the decision to meet with the Syrians and Iranians.

Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, said it was a good move to include Syria and Iran.

"Right now, they're a big part of the problem, but they have an interest in becoming part of the solution to prevent chaos in Iraq," Biden said. "I hope this means that clearer heads in the administration are beginning to prevail."

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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): USIRAQ DIPLOMACY

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