US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell said today a Middle East peace conference, proposed by Israel, could take place at ministerial level and did not necessarily require Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat's presence.
Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon proposed the conference to Mr Powell during the US envoy's visit to Israel. An Israeli political source said the only condition was that Mr Arafat did not attend.
When asked specifically about Mr Arafat, he said: "...it does not necessarily require his personal presence to get started."
"In fact one model one could consider is a ministerial level conference not necessarily heads of state or government," he told reporters on his plane, as he returned to Israel after a visit to Lebanon and Syria.
Mr Powell said the conference idea was still at a preliminary stage and did not have a structure yet. He said there were many willing sponsors for the conference .
Meanwhile Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said today Palestinian suicide bombings are "a result of Israeli practices." He made the comments during a meeting with Mr Powell in Damascus, the official SANA agency reported.
"Martyr operations are a result and an answer to Israeli practices ... and it would be better to eradicate the causes rather than waste time condemning them," Mr Assad told Mr Powell, who made an unscheduled stop in Syria as part of his regional peace mission.
Earlier Mr Powell urged Lebanon to stop Hizbollah guerrillas from turning the border with Israel into a second Middle East battle front.
"There is a very real danger of the situation along the border widening the conflict in the region," he said.
"It is essential for all those committed to peace to act immediately to stop actions across the border. This is the message I have conveyed and will continue to convey to all governments in the region", he said after meeting President Mr Emile Lahoud.
Diplomatic sources said Mr Powell, on a drive to end 18 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence, asked the Lebanese state to curb Hizbollah to avoid a possible harsh Israeli reprisal.
He also urged Lebanese leaders to send the army to the border with Israel, which has been left under Hizbollah's control since the group helped force Israel to end its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in May 2000, they said.
Hizbollah, the Shi'ite Muslim Party of God, stepped up raids on Israel across the border after Israel began a West Bank incursion against the Palestinians late last month. It organised a demonstration today to denounce US support of Israel.
Thousands of angry Lebanese blocked off main roads leading to the airport in protest.
Mr Powell was also criticised by Lebanese Foreign Minister Mr Mahmoud Hammoud, who accused Washington of being biased towards Israel.
Mr Powell has not arrived in Syria on the next leg of his Middle East tour.