The international community would work to "try to gain an understanding from other states that they have responsibilities too" in ending the violence in Lebanon, Rice told a news conference following the five-hour talks.

"Syria has a responsibility," Rice said. "And we are deeply concerned, as we have said, about the role of Iran. It is high time that people make a choice."

Further criticism of Syria came from French President Jacques Chirac, who told Le Monde newspaper Damascus was "at odds with security and peace".

Referring to the Syrian president, Chirac said: "There was a time when I spoke to Bashar al-Assad. I spoke to his father. To hide nothing from you, this dialogue came to an end. It was he who wanted it. "And then, I realised that it was coming to nothing. That the regime embodied by Bashar al-Assad seemed to me to be at odds with security and peace."

In a reference to the abduction of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah, which sparked the Israel-Lebanon conflict, Chirac spoke of his "feeling" that "Hamas as well as Hezbollah did not take these irresponsible initiatives simply of their own accord".

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said before the Rome conference ended he was "not optimistic" about the meeting, because of the "role played by the United States and the (UN) Security Council in favour of the Zionist regime."

He hoped the conference would take decisions "to put an end to the crimes of the Zionist regime".

He also criticised the failure to invite Iran and Syria to the talks, saying "the absence of certain countries could not help the chances" of success in Rome.

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