The United States gave a mixed assessment on progress it is hoping to see from Syria, citing improvement with regard to Iraq (news - web sites) but not on the issues of support for radical Palestinian groups or Lebanon.

"I would say that we have had some useful discussions on some of these issues. And we've seen, I'd say, some steps on issues like finance, on issues like border control. They're not perfect yet. There's a lot more to do," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Washington in recent months has pressed Damascus hard to tighten control of its border with Iraq in cooperation with US and Iraqi forces.

But Boucher said "the issues of groups, Palestinian groups operating out of Damascus and individuals still being able to operate there remains a very open question, one that we've not seen very much happen on.

"And the overall issue of Syrian support for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas that have been carrying out terrorist attacks, we have not seen much change on.

"And furthermore, that the issue of Syrian interference in Lebanon is one that we've, unfortunately, seen nothing on," the spokesman underscored.

"So there are a lot of things going on in the US-Syria relationship. There are a lot of issues that we have raised that we have pressed on," Boucher said. (AFP)