US House speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Lebanon on Monday ahead of a planned visit to neighbouring Syria which has deeply angered the White House. Mirroring a similar visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Pelosi - on her first trip to Lebanon since becoming speaker - is due to hold talks with leaders on both sides of Lebanon's political divide.
She will meet Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora as well as parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a leading figure in the Syrian-backed opposition which is trying to force out the government. The United States accuses Syria of harbouring terror organisations and backing insurgents in Iraq and has denounced Pelosi's visit to Damascus for undermining US policy.
But Syria's embassy in Washington hailed the proposed trip as "momentous" and expressed hopes it may change sorely strained relations with the United States. "Mrs Pelosi is welcome in Damascus. There are great hopes of a rebalancing of US policy in the region," Syria's official Tishrin newspaper said. "(The United States) knows Syria is open to dialogue with the Americans."
Pelosi, a strident opponent of US President George W. Bush, is due in Damascus on Tuesday, two days after three US Republican members of Congress held a rare encounter there with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.