DAMASCUS, Feb 16: The US envoy to Syria, called home for consultations over the killing of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, met in Damascus on Wednesday with Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara, state news agency SANA reported.

Ambassador Margaret Scobey delivered a message from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on "developments in Lebanon, Iraq and the (Middle East) peace process", SANA said.

The agency said Shara had "given Mrs Scobey a reply to the message that she, in turn, will transmit to the American secretary of state". The foreign minister had said that the recall would give the ambassador "an opportunity to inform the American administration directly about Damascus' positions on developments in the region". -AFP