WASHINGTON, April 8: The US government on Sunday faced new calls to reach out to Syria as leading politicians praised a controversial visit to Damascus by a top Democratic legislator.

Republican Senator Arlen Specter said that Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, was right to travel to Syria, where she met with President Bashar al-Assad.

President George W. Bush, however, said that Ms Pelosi’s trip last week undermined US-led efforts to isolate President Assad, and Vice-President Dick Cheney said it rewarded Mr Assad’s alleged backing for violent extremists.

“I believe in the maxim of ‘hold your friends close and your enemies closer’,” said Mr Specter, speaking on CNN. “Look, Assad is not a Boy Scout, but we have to deal with him.” Mr Specter said he believed “that Assad can be negotiated with ... Opening discussions with Syria are very, very important”.

Washington slapped economic sanctions on Syria in 2004 for its alleged ties to terrorism and withdrew its ambassador from Damascus after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. Syria has been implicated in the killing.

US officials have also accused Syria of providing a base for fighters attacking US-led forces in Iraq, and of supporting Palestinian militants and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under Democratic president Bill Clinton, also favoured talks with Damascus.

“The United States should be talking to people that we don’t like,” she said.

“It is much more important, frankly, than talking to just people who agree with us.

And so I think she had every right to go,” said Ms Albright, also speaking on CNN.

However, Joseph Lieberman, an independent Senator who supports the Democrats on virtually all issues except Iraq, was unhappy with the Pelosi trip.

—AFP