Syrian Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban said on Saturday that the United States needed the cooperation of Iraq's neighbors to restore security in the war-torn country.

Shaaban made the remarks at a press conference here, saying U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent meeting with her Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallem in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh was a proof of that.

"It is a proof that the American administration needs the cooperation of Iraq's neighbors and of several other countries (on Iraq's security)," she said, adding that the meeting was also a proof of the recognition by Washington that "it finds itself in an impasse in Iraq."

Shaaban also noted that the meeting would not change Syria's stance on the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq, reiterating Syria's call for a withdrawal timetable of U.S. troops there.

"The main solution is establishing a timetable for withdrawal (of U.S. forces)," she said.

Rice held ground-breaking talks with Muallem on Thursday on the sidelines of the International Compact with Iraq (ICI) in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Muallem told reporters that their meeting dealt with how to help Iraq regain security and stability and bilateral relations while Rice described it as professional, businesslike and concrete to focus on the Iraqi issue.

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 Farouk al-Shara.

In January 2005, then U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage met with Syrian officials in Damascus, which is the last high-level talks between the United States and Syria.

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.

In addition, 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 Prime Minister 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, had been boycotting direct engagement with Syria as recommended by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

Editor: Donald