US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived here Wednesday for talks with her EU and NATO counterparts, in an attempt to quell a raging controversy over secret CIA prisons.

Rice arrived in Brussels, which houses both NATO and the European Union (EU) headquarters, from a stop in Ukraine after her visits to Germany and Romania.

The top US diplomat met fellow ministers at an informal dinner on Wednesday ahead of a formal NATO ministerial meeting on Thursday, the main focus of which was expected to be plans to expand the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Rice's European tour has provided the European countries with a good opportunity to seek clarification from ashington for the alleged secret CIA prisons scandal.

It was reported that the CIA has established secret prison camps in Poland and Romania and regular flights carrying detained terror suspects pass through European airspace.

During her diplomatic visit to Europe, Rice has admitted that terror suspects are flown abroad for interrogation, but denied they were tortured.

She said suspects were moved by plane under a process known as rendition, which was "a lawful weapon."

She refused to respond to claims that the CIA has secret prisons abroad where suspects are interrogated without reference to international law.

The allegations have caused uproar and the EU has written to Washington demanding answers.

Source: Xinhua