Mitchell: Want to create conditions for negotiations

The US and Syria are "well aware of the many difficulties ... yet we share an obligation to create conditions for negotiations to begin promptly and end successfully," US Mideast envoy George Mitchell said after a Saturday meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Mitchell's visit, which marks a thaw in US-Syrian relations, was preceded by bilateral talks between security officials in Damascus on Friday that included discussions on Iraq, sources in the Syrian capital said. A US embassy official said the meeting was between a "military-led" US and Syrian teams, but declined to give further details. (Reuters)