Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday met with three visiting U.S. lawmakers on regional issues, the official SANA news agency reported.

Assad exchanged views with the lawmakers on the general situation in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, SANA said, without giving further details.

The lawmakers, Frank Wolf, Joe Beats, and Robert Adrholt, are all Republicans from the U.S. House of Representatives.

The visit came before a trip to Damascus by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who is expected to lead a delegation of members of Congress and arrive in Damascus on Tuesday.

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group has urged the Bush administration to engage in talks with Syria and Iran over Iraq. However, the Bush administration has largely ignored the suggestion.

Washington has been accusing Syria of supporting terrorism and doing insufficient to stop militants and weapons from infiltrating into neighboring Iraq and destabilize situation there.

Source: Xinhua