Cairo  - Saudi Arabian King Abdullah is to host a summit Wednesday in Riyadh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in a bid to strengthen relations between the Arab states.

"The summit is seen as preparation for the Arab League summit in Doha," expected to be held on March 30, the official MENA news agency quoted Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki as saying.

New York - Iran supplied arms to Syria in violation of a UN Security Council resolution banning arms transfer as part of measures against Iran's nuclear activities, the United States and Britain said Tuesday.

Details of the arms transfer to Syria were not made public, but the US and British ambassadors called for efforts to stop weapons deals between Tehran and Damascus.

US Ambassador Susan Rice said the 15-nation council should take action to end Iran's weapons procurement to Syria.

Damascus/Washington  - Senior US officials met with Syrian counterparts in Damascus Saturday for the highest level talks between the two countries in years, as part of US President Barack Obama's initiative to expand dialogue in the Middle East.

Acting US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman and White House aide Daniel Shapiro met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and other Syrian officials for discussions on bilateral and regional issues.

Damascus/Washington - Senior US officials met with Syrian counterparts in Damascus Saturday for the highest level talks between the two countries in years, as part of US President Barack Obama's initiative to expand dialogue in the Middle East.

Acting US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman and White House aide Daniel Shapiro met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and other Syrian officials for discussions on bilateral and regional issues.

Damascus  - US Acting Assistant Secretary for the Near East Jeffrey Feltman and another top US diplomat were to arrive later Saturday in Syria for what Feltman called a "long list" of concerns.

Feltman and Daniel Shapiro, senior director of the Middle East and North Africa Daniel Shapiro at the US National Security Council, were heading to Syria after leaving Beirut, where they held talks with senior Lebanese officials Friday.

Damascus - Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal arrived in Damascus on Wednesday in yet another sign of improving ties between the two Arab powers.

Al-Faisal is expected to deliver a message from King Abdullah to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya news satellite channel reported.

On Thursday, al-Faisal said that he wanted to build "healthy" new ties with Syria.

"The disagreements between us are over and buried," he said two days after his Syrian counterpart visited Riyadh with a message from al-Assad.