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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Saturday that Syria had clamped down on militant Palestinian groups, a demand in Washington's plan for the Middle East after the Iraq war. "They did some closures. I expect them to do more with respect to access and appearances of various officials of these organizations," Powell told reporters in Beirut, when asked whether Syria had taken action against Palestinian factions. "We've provided some other suggestions to the Syrians that they have taken under advisement, and I expect to hear back from them in the future," he told reporters. Powell met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday in Damascus and then flew to Lebanon where he met the president, prime minister and other officials before holding a news conference. A senior State Department official traveling with Powell said, "I think we made some progress," in talks with the Syrians. He said that Powell specifically asked the Syrians to close the offices of Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad and the PFLP-GC (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command) and others, unnamed by him. On his first Middle East trip since U.S.-led troops toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Powell said his message was that change in Iraq and the prospect of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians created a "new strategic dynamic" in the region. DIALOGUE -- NOT ULTIMATUMS He has dismissed suggestions Syria was next on any list of U.S. targets, saying before meeting Assad: "The issue of war and hostilities is not on the table." Syria has made clear that it wants dialogue and not ultimatums from the United States. Damascus is keen to recover the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said the talks between Assad and Powell were "constructive, candid and positive." "It has been agreed to maintain contacts and coordination of efforts in a manner that serves the interests of both countries and achieves security and stability in the region," it added. A State Department official with Powell said, "We didn't come here bearing carrots," when asked about any incentives for Syria to join Washington's plans for the region. The official said the U.S. message was the situation in the region had changed and "there are a lot of things that you ought to think about changing too, and if you do that, you'll have a better relationship with us." Powell told the Syrians that they needed good relations with the United States because the new Iraqi government would be an American ally, the official said. "It's (Iraq) going to be a very close friend of the United States; therefore it's in your interests to have a better relationship with the United States," the official said Powell told the Syrians. "We believe we can be especially helpful now that you have to create a new relationship -- trading, political, economic, oil relationship -- with your neighbors in Iraq," Powell had said, according to the official. PRESSURE ON HIZBOLLAH Powell made clear pressure would continue on Syria to cut its support for Hizbollah, which helped end Israel's 22-year occupation of south Lebanon and has since clashed with Israeli troops in a disputed border zone. "We have emphasized strongly our concern about the continuing terrorist activities of Hizbollah in the region and around the world," Powell said. Powell has warned Syria could face sanctions under a Syria Accountability Act in the U.S. Congress, which condemns Syria's 15,000-strong troop presence in Lebanon. Powell told reporters he wanted to focus on the future, with the emphasis on whether Syria would cooperate with a Middle East peace plan, or "road map," which international mediators gave to the Israelis and Palestinians this week. He suggested the plan could lead toward a Middle East peace conference, without elaborating on who would be represented or when it might take place. He said the United States was committed to a comprehensive settlement including the Golan Heights and Lebanon but that this would not necessarily happen at the same pace as Israeli-Palestinian talks. Under the previous administration of President Bill Clinton, Washington was an active mediator between Israel and Syria. At that time, Washington almost secured a peace agreement, including an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War. As Powell readied to leave Beirut, police and opponents of Syria's domination of Lebanon clashed, trading blows with batons and pipes before police hauled away dozens of protesters. The protesters were largely Christian backers of exiled army general Michel Aoun, who led a doomed revolt against Syria late in Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
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