US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell said today President George W. Bush would become involved in the Middle East peace process once Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon forms a new government.
Appearing on the CBS "Face the Nation" program, Mr Powell also said he had added a brief stop in Damascus to meet with Syrian President Mr Bashar al-Assad as he makes the round of Arab capitals and travels to Israel beginning Feb. 23.
"Syria is ... an important player in this whole process and so I thought it was very, very appropriate for me as part of this quick trip to the Middle East, my first trip, to also stop in Syria for just a few hours," Mr Powell said.
With tension high in the region in the wake of hard-liner Ariel Sharon's election as prime minister in Israel, Mr Powell announced last week he would visit Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, Jordan and Kuwait. It will be Mr Powell's first foreign trip alone.
He will meet Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat as well as Mr Sharon.
Reuters