Rice wraps up short visit to Lebanon

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrapped up her hours-long "surprise visit" to Lebanon and left Beirut Friday evening.

During her brief visit, Rice held talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Nabih Berri and Saad Hariri, head of the parliamentary Future Bloc and son of slain anti-Syrian former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Lahoud met with Rice at the presidential palace in eastern Beirut, the first of its kind came in the wake of US-led international criticisms of amending article 49 of the Lebanese constitution in order to allow the president to remain in office for another three years.

Rice told a press conference following the talks that "My visit to Lebanon was meant to show US support for the Lebanese as the whole world has been touched by the developments in the country."

She pledged cooperation between Washington and the Lebanese government, saying "I believe that we can support, both through international organizations and through direct support, the economic and political reforms that will be undertaken there."

Rice flew here from Israel on Friday afternoon to show support for the new Lebanese government formed only three days ago and dominated by an anti-Syrian coalition which swept last month's parliamentary elections.

She is the highest ranking US official to visit Lebanon since Syria ended a 29-year military presence in its tiny neighbor of Lebanon in April under intense pressure following the Feb. 14 assassination of Rafik al-Hariri.

After the Beirut tour, Rice will return to Israel to continue her regional visit, the third of its kind this year, aimed to ensure a peaceful Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip due to start in mid-August, which Rice hoped would help revive the long-stalled road map for peace.

Rice held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Sharon's ranch in the southern Negev desert on Friday morning before she left for Beirut.

The US top diplomat will travel to the Palestinian areas on Saturday and hold talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israel is scheduled to evacuate some 8,500 settlers from all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four of 120 in the West Bank next month.

Source: Xinhua