U.S. Official to Meet Syrians: Spokesman

A U.S. diplomat will meet three Syrians on a private visit organized by a non-governmental organization to Washington, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said on Tuesday.

"We have an interest in reaching out to the Syrian people. However, we are going to continue to limit diplomatic engagement unless the Syrian government takes concrete actions to end its destabilizing tactics," Gallegos told reporters.

The spokesman, who declined to provide the schedule of the meeting, or to say which U.S. diplomat would attend, said that the coming meeting does not signal warmer ties or greater U.S. interest in Israeli-Syrian peace talks.

Washington remains focusing on "the Israeli-Palestinian track," he said.

The United States and Syria have been in tense relations for years, with Washington criticizing the Syrian human rights track record and accusing Damascus of trying to undermine stability in Iraq and undercut Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy.

U.S. President George W. Bush in February expanded earlier standing U.S. sanctions against Syrian senior government officials and their associates deemed responsible for public corruption.

In May, Bush announced extending U.S. sanctions against Syria by one year after the Bush administration accused Syria of building a secret nuclear reactor with the help of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Syria has denied the charge.