Iran FM visits Damascus for talks with Syria's Assad

TEHRAN

Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Tuesday met with his Syrian counterpart Walid Al Muallem in Damascus, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The two sides conferred on the most significant issues in mutual ties and regional and global developments including the recent ones in North Africa,” the statement said.

It said Zarif called on the urged the international community “to respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Earlier, the Iranian foreign minister also held talks with Bashar al-Assad in which they ”exchanged views on various aspects of mutual ties, the most significant regional issues, the latest development of Astana initiative and the political process to resolve the Syria crisis,” according to a separate statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

“Following up on the agreements reached in the Iranian first vice-president’s visit to Syria was also among the main issues discussed in the meeting,” the statement added.

Earlier, Zarif arrived in the Syrian capital for a one-day official visit which comes upon an official invitation from Assad, according to the official IRNA news agency.

He will fly to Turkey after completing his visit to Damascus. Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Zarif will pay a working visit to Turkey on Wednesday.

"During the visit, all aspects of our bilateral relations will be discussed and views on regional and international issues will be exchanged," the ministry said.

Notably, Zarif submitted his resignation on February 25 in protest of Assad's visit to Tehran, which he was unaware of. His resignation, however, was rejected by President Hassan Rouhani.

Syria has just begun to emerge from a devastating civil war that began in early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat