Syria left a Mideast peace conference with nothing concrete on reviving its stalled peace talks with Israel. But its delegates received warm handshakes and words of thanks from Secretary of State Condolezza Rice, whose administration has all but shunned the Arab state.
At the end of a day of speeches and meetings in Annapolis Tuesday that focused on pushing forward the Israeli-Palestinian track, Rice walked over to the Syrian delegates, according Imad Moustapha, Syria's ambassador to Washington. "She shook hands with us and thanked us for participating," Moustapha told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. "She also asked us to pass our greetings to Foreign Minister Waleed al-Moallem."
"Her body language was very positive," he added. "(The encounter) was very relaxed. There was no tension."
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