RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Washington plans to invite six Arab states including Syria to a Middle East peace conference, Abbas’s aides said.

Abbas’s senior aide Nimer Hammad said on Saturday Washington would like Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, plus the Palestinian Authority to attend the U.S.-sponsored conference, expected to be held in November.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas walk together upon arrival to a joint news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah September 20, 2007. Rice has told Abbas Washington plans to invite six Arab states including Syria to a Middle East peace conference, Abbas’s aides said.
Rice held talks with Abbas during her sixth visit to the region last week as part of efforts to prod Israel and the Palestinians closer to an agreement ahead of the conference.