Damascus Government stresses its position on the Turkish occupation

According to the official agency of the Government of Damascus, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faysal Mekdad met today, the supervisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Ali Bagheri Kani , and the accompanying delegation, at the Ministry headquarters in Damascus.

Prior to his arrival in Damascus, Ali Bagheri Kani visited Lebanon, where he met with senior officials and the Secretary-General of Hezbullah, Hassan Nasrallah, with whom he discussed the latest developments in the region, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.

At a joint press conference following the meeting, the leadership noted the importance of "continuing strategic relations between Syria and Iran and continuing cooperation to strengthen them."

For his part, the Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs said: "I have come to Syria today to extend, on behalf of the Iranian Government and people, my thanks and appreciation to the Government and the Syrian people for their solidarity with us," in view of the loss of their lives by the Iranian President and the delegation accompanying him.

According to the Agency, Ali Bagheri Kani  indicated that Iran and Syria were allies with close ties and were essential pillars of stability in the region.

In the context of the leadership response to the interventions of journalists, he said that "the basic requirement of any Syrian-Turkish dialogue is for Ankara to declare its readiness to withdraw from our occupied territories, explaining "We want to see precise Turkish commitments that reflect Turkey's commitment to withdraw from our occupied territories and cease its support for terrorist organizations."

This is the first foreign visit by Ali Bagheri Kani , since he took office as a successor to Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdelhayan, who lost his life with Iranian President Ibrahim and their accompanying delegation following the crash of their plane last month.