French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met for more than one hour Monday ahead of a conference on the Darfur crisis to be held later in the day in Paris. Sarkozy's spokesman, David Martinon, said Sarkozy and Rice discussed "high-priority issues," such as Lebanon, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iran and Darfur. Rice, who was meeting Sarkozy officially for the first time since the French president took office in May, made no comment after the talks. In addition to Rice and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the Darfur meeting will also be attended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and representatives from China, Russia, Japan and Germany.
