Bush administration officials were cool to an announcement by Israel and Syria that they have resumed indirect peace talks and made clear the U.S. remains focused on the Israeli-Palestinian track that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said is "more mature" and more likely at the moment to produce results.

Rice's brief three-paragraph statement did not address the announcement of Israeli-Syrian peace contacts, which the Bush administration has expressed reservations about in the past.

Speaking to reporters later at a news conference with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, she said the United States is not opposed to Israel and Syria talking peace but that the top U.S. priority is forging an Israeli-Palestinian deal.
"We would welcome any steps that might lead to a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Obviously, we are working very hard on the Palestinian-Israeli track, which is the most mature track," she said. "That is the track that is now well along in the bilateral negotiations and we have an opportunity to get an agreement by the end of the year."

In a hastily convened news conference called to discuss the developments, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East acknowledged that the Arab-mediated Lebanon agreement, which boosts Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah and gives it veto power over any government decision, is imperfect.

David Welch, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and Rice both said Turkey, which is mediating the indirect talks, and Israel had informed the United States of the discussions since they began, but that U.S. officials had played no role and did not intend to.

"We think the expansion of the circle of peace would be a good thing," Welch said. "It's a good thing and we hope it progresses, but where we're making the effort right now is on the Palestinian track."

He noted that the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, brokered by the U.S., were being held directly by the parties and were not through third parties.

"Direct negotiations are always the best way to proceed," Welch said.

The administration also sought Wednesday to put a positive spin on a deal between Lebanon's feuding factions, saying it is key to short-term stability even though it gives the militant Hezbollah movement more power.

"We view this agreement as a positive step towards resolving the current crisis," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement released before she called embattled Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to express U.S. support for his government. "We call upon all Lebanese leaders to implement this agreement in its entirety."

In a hastily convened news conference called to discuss the developments, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East acknowledged that the Arab-mediated Lebanon agreement, which boosts Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah and gives it veto power over any government decision, is imperfect.

But he welcomed it as a "necessary and positive" step to end violence and the country's political crisis, which has paralyzed Lebanon for the past 18 months, blocking the selection of a new president, and sparking deadly street fighting earlier this month when Hezbollah gunmen took over parts of Beirut.

"This is not a perfect solution, but it is much better than the alternatives," said Welch. "It's a necessary and positive step," he said, adding quickly: "It's not for us to decide how Lebanon does this."

He said the United States wants to see the agreement implemented as quickly as possible with the election of a president, the formation of a new government and revisions to the country's electoral law ahead of a parliamentary vote set for next year.

But Welch stressed that Washington supports the majority in the Lebanese government and noted that there were Hezbollah members in the previous government with whom the U.S. had no dealings.

The same principle would apply now, although under the deal, Hezbollah will have 11 seats in the Cabinet out of 30. That's almost double the number in the Cabinet before the deal.

And, he played down the implications of the effusive praise for the deal offered by Iran and Syria immediately after it was announced in Qatar, which raised fears the two U.S. foes may now have even more influence in Lebanon.

"There are a number of governments who acclaimed this," Welch said. "If Syria and Iran have supported that, then perhaps they will continue to exercise a more constructive role in Lebanon. We would like to see that. It would come as a bit of a surprise to us, but results are what count."