Rice stops in Cyprus, thanks for cooperation in Lebanon crisis

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thanked Cyprus Monday for the “remarkable cooperation” in evacuating US citizens from war-torn Lebanon.

She met Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas briefly at Larnaca airport, before heading to Lebanon on board a US military helicopter for talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

According to a US embassy announcement issued in Nicosia, Lillikas reassured his American counterpart that Cyprus will continue to put its available infrastructure and means at the disposal of foreign governments for repatriating their citizens.

After Lebanon, Condoleezza Rice will continue to Israel for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, before discussing the Lebanon crisis with European and Arab officials in Rome on Wednesday.

“It is very important to establish conditions under which a ceasefire can take place. We believe that a ceasefire is urgent,” Rice was quoted by the state Cyprus News Agency as saying.

“It is important to have conditions that will make it also sustainable,” she told reporters.