Riots greet Condoleeza Rice in Athens

ATHENS, Greece, April 25 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was met in Athens Tuesday by masked rioters throwing gasoline bombs and stones to protest her arrival.

Some 5,000 extra police were deployed throughout the Greek capital for her official visit, many of them in full riot gear, the Kathimerini news service said.

Scores of store windows, cafes and hotel lobbies lining one of Athens' premier shopping districts were damaged. Three vehicles were wrecked during a 20-minute rampage, the International Herald Tribune reported.

An estimated 3,000 peaceful protestors carrying giant banners reading "Rice Go Home" dispersed when police began lobbing tear gas into the crowd. There were conflicting reports on the number of arrests.

Rice held talks with her counterpart, Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, on the situation in Iraq and Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program as well as Cyprus and Greek-Turkish relations. She also met with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis before continuing her tour of the region, which includes a trip to Ankara, Turkey and possibly Nicosia, Cyprus.