Iranian president hails Tehran-Damascus ties
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-08-09 15:05

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday defined relations with Syria as "growing" and expected bilateral ties to be boosted further, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Ahmadinejad made the comments at an official ceremony to see off his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, who arrived here on Sunday on an official visit.

"The visit by Syrian high-ranking delegation to Iran would make the two countries strengthen bilateral cooperation and coordination," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

"The enemies have always been filled with anger over consolidation of ties among all regional states particularly between Iran and Syria, the two countries which play an important role in establishment of security and stability in the region," Ahmadinejad said.

Bashar, for his part, stressed the importance of expansion of bilateral ties in all fields.

During his two-day visit, Bashar held meetings with top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Defense Minister Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani.

Iran has been keeping good relations with Syria, which the Iranian media has branded as a strategic ally.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri paid a visit to Iran in February, during which the two sides called for a united front to confront economic sanctions imposed on them by the United States.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Azizi said in March that Iran-Syria cooperation had no military or security nature.

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