Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has called for additional consultations among regional states to devise ways to counter the plots of foreign powers.
During a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Damascus on Monday, Assad said that any cooperation between Iran and Syria could be “constructive” for efforts to resolve the problems facing the region.
Mottaki said, “The presence of foreign forces, and the plots of the [major] powers” are the main causes of the current crises in the region.
Assad and Mottaki stressed the need for consultations and coordination between the two allies to further their common interests in the region.
They also emphasized the “importance of reunifying Palestinians’ ranks” in the face of the hostile policies of Israel.
Assad and Mottaki called for “intensified international efforts to lift the siege of Gaza” that is oppressing 1.5 million Palestinians.
Commenting on the situation in Iraq, they said the Iraqi elections, due in early March, will be the starting point for establishing the stability and security of Iraq and the unity of the Iraqi people.
During his one-day visit to Damascus, Mottaki also met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine Secretary General Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, and Hezbollah official Haj Hussein Khalil.
Mottaki urged the Palestinians to continue their struggle “against the Zionist occupier,” which he said is their legal and religious right.
The Iranian foreign minister described his meeting with Assad as comprehensive and constructive.
He said the two countries have agreed to deepen cooperation in the economic and industrial spheres.
And Tehran and Damascus will soon exchange documents to wave visa requirements for citizens of the two countries, he added.
