SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt (AP) – Secretary of State Rice met Syria’s foreign minister Thursday in the first high-level talks between the two countries in years, hours after the chief military spokesman in Iraq said Syria had moved to reduce “the flow of foreign fighters” across its border.

The Bush administration has shunned Syria, which it considers a state supporter of terrorism, and last month President Bush assailed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for making a trip to Damascus, saying it sent mixed messages to the Syrian government. But the White House has been under pressure to talk with Syria and Iran, another American opponent in the region.

Still, a substantive America-Iran meeting appeared less certain. The Iraqi government is pressing for Ms. Rice and her Iranian counterpart to hold talks during the gathering, saying Washington’s conflict with the government in Tehran is only fueling the instability in Iraq.