U.S., Syria hold impromptu talks

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The United States and Syria held a series of meetings this week, signaling a possible thaw between the two countries as the United States seeks to peel Syria from its close ties with Iran.

No further meetings are planned between the two sides, said several senior State Department officials familiar with the talks who downplayed the expectations of a major breakthrough between the United States and Syria.

"You can't tell yet," one of the officials said. "It gave us a chance to raise our concerns directly but the results will depend on what we see on the ground."

The talks between Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and U.S. Assistant Secretary David Welch on Monday in New York came on the heels of a brief meeting between Moallem and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a day earlier, the senior officials said.
–From CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott