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U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell will spend two days in Syria this weekend.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell will spend two days in Syria this weekend as part of the Obama administration's effort to jump-start comprehensive peace efforts in the region, the State Department said
Tuesday.

Mitchell is already in Israel and plans to visit Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, and Lebanon before heading to Damascus, State
Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters. Mitchell's visit is a follow-up to President Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world last week in Cairo, Egypt, and part of his policy to pursue a "broad-based, comprehensive peace dealing with all the regional players."

"This is a very high priority," Kelly said.

U.S.-Syrian ties have been strained in recent years over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq and the ongoing political
struggle between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in Lebanon. The United States has not had an ambassador in Damascus since 2005.

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Rice said Tuesday she's not interested in being McCain's running mate.

(CNN) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed rumors on Tuesday she is angling to be John McCain's running mate, telling reporters she plans to head back to Stanford University.

"I very much look forward to watching this campaign and voting as a voter," she said. "I have a lot of work to do and then I'll happily go back to Stanford."

Rice served as Provost at Stanford from 1993-1999, and remains a tenured professor there.

"Senator McCain is an extraordinary American," Rice also said of the presumptive Republican nominee. "A really outstanding leader and obviously a great patriot."

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