Syrian paper hails Iranian president's visit as constructive

An official Syrian newspaper on Friday highlighted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit as "fruitful and constructive", terming it "another step in the right direction for building a strong bridge" between the two countries.

"The current developments in the region and the world necessitate this meeting ... to coordinate stands and study the situation from different aspects and to face the escalated pressures and plots against Syria and Iran," the Syria Times paper said in a commentary.

Ahmadinejad started a two-day official visit to Syria on Thursday in a bid to strengthen political and economic relations to ward off mounting international pressures.

Ahmadinejad held two meetings with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on Thursday, one to sign economic and political agreements and the other to discuss regional and international issues of common concerns.

After the talks, Assad and Ahmadinejad held a joint press conference, stating "common positions" on various issues, particularly on Iran's disputed nuclear program, Lebanon and Iraq.

Syria and Iran, both on the U.S. blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, are also accused by Washington of taking insufficient actions to prevent armed opponents of the U.S.-led coalition from crossing into Iraq.

In addition, the two countries back Hezbollah, a radical Shiite militia movement listed by Washington as a terrorist group.

Washington also backs disarming the group under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559.

Damascus is troubled by a UN probe into its alleged role in the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, and Iran is facing mounting international pressure to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear ambitions.

Source: Xinhua