Despite criticism from U.S. President George W. Bush, the leading Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today.

Saudi Arabia says Israel should first clearly accept Arab peace initiative before the kingdom would consider talks. A statement from the Saudi cabinet Monday did not directly refer to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's invitation to Arab leaders to attend a Middle East peace conference.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Israeli and Palestinian leaders Sunday in the latest international bid to revive the Middle East peace process. Germany and Israel enjoy warm ties, but as Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Ms. Merkel kept the Palestinian Authority at arms length.

European Union foreign ministers tackled the topic of Mideast peace Saturday on the second and final day of an informal meeting in Bremen, Germany. The delegates discussed how to deal with the new Palestinian unity government, and ways to support a 2002 Arab peace initiative revived last week at an Arab League summit.

The Arab League has urged Israel to accept a revived Arab peace proposal aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The call came at the end of a two-day Arab summit in Riyadh. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from the Saudi capital.

Israel is cautiously welcoming a peace initiative presented at this week's Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia. But Israel has reservations, and Palestinian leaders are warning against any changes in the plan. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.

Arab leaders have re-launched a land-for-peace plan with Israel and are urging the Jewish state to accept the initiative. The leaders formally approved the plan Thursday at the conclusion of a two-day Arab League summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Arab leaders are meeting in Saudi Arabia for a summit expected to re-launch a plan calling for normal relations with Israel if it withdraws from land captured in the 1967 Middle East War. The two-day summit of the 22-member Arab League opened in Riyadh Wednesday.

The secretary-general of the United Nations is continuing a Middle East peace mission, meeting with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the meeting occurred as Israel leveled unusually blunt criticism at the top moderate in the Palestinian Authority.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she isn't ready to attempt a "big bang" for Middle East peace, but she is assembling a plan to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer to that goal.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Egypt, on the first leg of a Middle East tour aimed at putting new life into the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Rice has said that she hopes to rally more Arab support for peace talks.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa urged Israel on Tuesday to be more proactive in restarting the stalled Mideast peace talks following the creation of a new Palestinian unity government.